Arriva changes 13 Maidstone services on 30 August. The 59 goes, the 9 loses Sundays, and Saturday buses on the 4 and 9 drop to every 90 minutes.
Arriva is changing 13 bus services in and around Maidstone on Sunday 30 August. One route is being withdrawn altogether, one loses its Sunday buses, and Saturday frequencies are cut on three more. Two services get extra journeys.
The company published the list on 7 August. It describes the package as “changes to some of our services across Maidstone from 30 August 2026, with most focused on improving punctuality through revised timetables, while some routes are being altered or reduced to better match customer demand” (Arriva, Service Changes in Maidstone).
What is being cut
Four of the changes reduce what is on offer:
- Service 59, Maidstone to Grafty Green, is withdrawn. Arriva gives the reason as changes in customer demand (Arriva, service 59). Its registered stop list runs out of Chequers bus station through Loose, Linton, Boughton Monchelsea, Chart Sutton and Chartway Street to Kingswood and Grafty Green (service 59 stops and timetable, bustimes.org).
- Service 9, Maidstone to Grove Green: Sunday journeys are withdrawn, and Saturday buses drop from every 60 minutes to every 90 (Arriva, service 9).
- Service 4, Maidstone to Downswood: Saturday buses drop from every 60 minutes to every 90 (Arriva, service 4).
- Service 5, Maidstone to Hawkhurst: Saturday buses drop from every 60 minutes to every 75, and two early morning journeys and one late journey between Hawkhurst and Cranbrook are withdrawn on Mondays to Fridays (Arriva, service 5).
Three further services lose individual journeys rather than frequency. The 89, Coxheath to Maidstone, loses its Monday to Friday school journey. The 575, Kings Hill to Maidstone schools, loses one morning and one afternoon journey on Mondays to Fridays. The 7, Maidstone to Tunbridge Wells, loses its off-peak school-day service between Tunbridge Wells station and the town’s Sainsbury’s.
What is being added
Two routes gain:
- Service 12, Maidstone to Tenterden: extra peak-time journeys on Mondays to Fridays, and Saturday buses double from every 60 minutes to every 30.
- Service 72, Maidstone to Kings Hill: the frequency rises from every 60 minutes to every 40. The route is revised to run via Tesco at Lunsford Park in line with the 71, and the section serving Clare Park stops being served.
The 71, Maidstone to Snodland, keeps its main route but its off-peak short journeys on Mondays to Fridays and Saturdays are replaced by the 72.
Every service changing on 30 August
| Service | Route | What changes |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | Maidstone to Maidstone Hospital | Revised Monday to Friday and Sunday timetable, for reliability |
| 4 | Maidstone to Downswood | Saturdays every 90 minutes instead of every 60 |
| 5 | Maidstone to Hawkhurst | Saturdays every 75 minutes instead of every 60; two early and one late Hawkhurst to Cranbrook journeys withdrawn |
| 7 | Maidstone to Tunbridge Wells | Revised Monday to Friday and Sunday timetable; off-peak school-day service between Tunbridge Wells station and Sainsbury's withdrawn |
| 9 | Maidstone to Grove Green | Sunday journeys withdrawn; Saturdays every 90 minutes instead of every 60 |
| 12 | Maidstone to Tenterden | Extra peak journeys Monday to Friday; Saturdays every 30 minutes instead of every 60; revised Sunday timetable |
| 59 | Maidstone to Grafty Green | Withdrawn |
| 71 | Maidstone to Snodland or Lunsford Park | Revised timetable; off-peak short journeys replaced by the 72 Monday to Saturday; revised Sunday timetable |
| 72 | Maidstone to Kings Hill | Every 40 minutes instead of every 60; rerouted via Tesco at Lunsford Park; Clare Park no longer served |
| 82 | Maidstone to Parkwood | Revised Sunday timetable |
| 85 | Maidstone to Senacre Wood | Revised Sunday timetable |
| 89 | Coxheath to Maidstone | Revised Monday to Friday and Sunday timetable; the Monday to Friday school journey withdrawn |
| 575 | Kings Hill to Maidstone schools | One morning and one afternoon journey withdrawn, Monday to Friday |
The timing matters
The changes land on the Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend. That is the point at which the 59, the 89’s school journey and two of the 575’s journeys stop existing, so anyone relying on those buses for the autumn term needs a different arrangement in place before it starts.
The 59 is already not running. Arriva’s own timetable returns no journeys for it on any weekday between now and 28 August (Arriva, service 59). Arriva’s notice does not say why, and the withdrawal takes effect on 30 August, before those journeys would have resumed.
What it means for you
- Check any Saturday journey on the 4, 5 or 9 before 30 August. An hourly bus becoming a 90-minute one changes what time you have to leave, not just how long you wait.
- If you use the 9 on a Sunday, you no longer have a bus. Grove Green loses its Sunday link to the town centre entirely.
- If you use the 59, plan now. The nearest alternatives for the villages it serves are the 5 along the A229 through Loose and Linton, and the 12 along the A274 through Sutton Valence, but neither follows the 59’s route.
- Kings Hill and Tenterden passengers gain. The 72 becoming a 40-minute service and the 12 running every half hour on Saturdays are real improvements, though the 72 no longer serves Clare Park.
- Get the new timetables from the route pages on Arriva’s site rather than a printed copy, and check the day of week: several of these changes only apply to Saturdays or Sundays.
For getting into and out of town by road, our Maidstone roadworks and travel page tracks current closures, and our train times guide covers the rail alternative from Maidstone East and West.
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