This petition was submitted during the 2017-2019 parliament
Rejected petition Make Arriva Bus in Kent lower their prices and cap them
An adult day bus ticket in Maidstone, Kent costs £5.20. A single ticket from Maidstone town centre to Linton Corner on an Arriva bus (a 19 minute journey) costs an adult £3.30. This adds up. Buses in rural areas can be the only way for people to commute and these high prices can lead to isolation.
More details
Young person's travel passes are £350, and adult tickets are overpriced too.
Arriva and Nuventure are the only buses in Maidstone and both are regularly late with high prices. Due to them running different routes, there is no competition and they can charge high prices for a below average service.
There is a lot of money going into Arriva Kent but customers do not experience any of the benefits of this. According to Paul Carter in 2018, the KCC budget for subsidised buses was £7.4 million.
This petition was rejected
Why was this petition rejected?
It’s about something that the UK Government or Parliament is not directly responsible for.
Bus fares are not set by the UK Government. Local bus operators (bus companies) are free to set their own fares. However, local transport authorities (usually local councils) have the power to set maximum fares in some circumstances.
If you would like bus fares in your local area to be lower, you could raise this with your local council. You can find out who your local councillor is here:
https://www.gov.uk/find-your-local-councillors
We only reject petitions that don’t meet the petition standards.