Silly Arriva Goes Downhill
But not like that; however amusing the idea might be (and however poor a paste-up - fbb is struggling with the minutiae of the new system!).
Herewith a panel timetable from ancient days.
Then a table hidden in Robert Muster's archive shows Arriva still running a 477 every 30 minutes ...
... and extended to Bluewater shopping centre. It must have been before 2022, because this happens.
Arriva was pleased to reinstate it.
Well, it would have to be reinstated as the MP told them to!
The same gang have campaigned, apparently, and cleverly have managed to stand in exactly the same pose as when the route was cut back. Clever PR eh?
And then Arriva un-reinstaten it.
At some stage in this messy and unhelpful tale, the frequency was reduced to hourly!
And, to conclude this sad saga of superb service (!) to the good people of Kent ...
... it is being obliterated.
It is fair to say that Arriva has not been very enthusiastic about promoting the service; indeed Arriva has not, in recent times, been enthusiastic about promoting any bus service, anywhere, ever!
Photographs on-line show a sorry collection of vehicles over the years with a wheel at each corner and no signs of quality.
Minibuses turned up occasionally with nothing offering any sort of wow factor.
There was, surprise surprise, a very brief period when Arriva managed branded buses.
... but branded., excitingly, in different colours.
fbb is not sure whether the coloured splodges at the rear had any local significance - or, indeed what the splodges were meant to signify anyway.
But it was earlier this month that a nail was formally driven into Arriva's self-adopted design-for-decline coffin. fbb has, as usual, added his thoughtful and considered comments.
We have made the difficult decision to withdraw service 477 following a sustained period of low passenger usage.
and a sustained period of under investment by us.
We have carefully explored all possible options to keep the route running, including a trial last year to extend the service to the local hospital and Bluewater shopping centre, but sadly, it is no longer sustainable.
but we didn't bother much with any publicity - it's all on-line you know!
Additionally, the introduction of a competing service on the Swanley to Dartford section of the route by another operator from 1 September has significantly impacted the commercial viability of continuing the route.
The rotters!
The last day of service will be 25 October 2025. We understand that this will be disappointing for those who rely on the service, this decision has not been taken lightly.
Somehow, customers didn't respond to our appalling on line web site and timetables; but lack of good maps didn't seem to attract them either; surprisingly our eclectic collection of barely average buses did not pull in the crowds. Our cunning plan to halve the frequency seemed to be off-putting to our remaining loyal customer.
Lots of Love : the Managers.
All very silly of Arriva!
But worry not, potential 477 users, the ever (un)resourceful Kent County Council are on the case.
Next Silliness at Swanley blog : Weds 17 Sept
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