Stagecoach’s controversial decision to slash the number of buses serving vital routes has been branded “an absolute joke”.

The company is facing criticism following the launch of its new timetable covering Canterbury, Herne Bay and Whitstable, which comes into force on Sunday (May 5).

Bus numbers will be reduced from four to two an hour between Herne Bay and Whitstable - making it every 30 minutes.

Meanwhile the services between Herne Bay, Broomfield and Beltinge, as well as Greenhill and Canterbury will now be hourly instead of every 30 minutes.

Stagecoach says the changes are an “improvement”, reflect the level of demand on the routes, and will not affect most passengers.

But passengers like Lisa Crossley, a cashier at Sainsbury’s on the Altira Business Park in Herne Bay, are furious.

Her morning commute from Herne Drive is about to get considerably harder and more time-consuming.

The 52-year-old mum-of-three said: “I am now going to have to get two buses - one to Herne Bay station and then another to Sainsbury’s and arrive 90 minutes early, to avoid being late for work if I get the later service.”

“Other people on the bus have been complaining about it and an elderly woman I spoke to the other day, who needs the bus for regular GP appointments, was especially upset.”

Stagecoach also claims the new timetable is designed to offer more capacity at peak times and allows for a half-hourly service between Herne Bay and the Estuary View Medical Centre at Whitstable.

From Sunday, buses between Herne Bay and Canterbury will be numbered 600 and 601 and Broomfield and Beltinge will be served on route 602.

The cut in the number of buses seems at odds with Canterbury City Council’s (CCC) new Bus First policy, designed to encourage more people to use public transport.

Cabinet member for tourism, movement and rural development, Cllr Alex Ricketts says CCC wants Stagecoach to provide a comprehensive service but has no sway over its commercial decisions.

“Our approach is bus passes not by-passes and we are also working with developers to try and facilitate better public transport,” he said.

“We regularly talk to Stagecoach and it’s good news that our plea for a new service between Herne Bay and Estuary View has been met.

“But without subsidies from central government, some of these routes are not commercially viable and the company won’t run them if they lose money.”

Numerous bus users have taken to social media to scorn the new timetable.

Passenger Amy Hitchcock says she is “gutted” about the number 6 bus becoming hourly as there is “always lots of people waiting for it.”

Referencing the new timetable, Brenda Hackett says: “Easier to navigate - really?

“With so many elderly people relying on the buses to get to appointments, etc., this is a real nightmare.

Jane Holmes adds: “I thought they wanted us to use public transport, this is an absolute joke, one an hour to Beltinge, its not good enough.”

A Stagecoach spokesman said: “There are two key reasons for making these changes.

“Firstly, to improve the reliability of the buses by making the timetables more resilient to the effects of roadworks and traffic congestion - by reducing the extent to which journeys are interworked with other sections of the route and therefore isolating disruption so that it doesn't have such a knock-on affect.

“Secondly, to make the service simpler to understand and easier to navigate by reducing confusion caused by having a single route name for every bus in each direction.”