Amazon Bus Update
From KCC Councillor and SGRA Chairman Peter Harman.
I wanted to give residents feedback regarding the AZ bus service being funded by Amazon, and in particular regarding a meeting that I attended last Friday (17th). The meeting involved representatives from Amazon and Go Coach; and Officers from DBC and KCC. I managed to get a seat on the committee largely thanks to those Ingress Park residents who took the time to write giving their views and concerns to the JTB Committee Chair and the Traffic Commissioner. This is a positive outcome, as I can now at least give the views of Ingress Park residents when matters are being discussed; whereas before there was nobody there directly speaking up for our residents.
I will first list all the general information that I have regarding the background to this bus service, before giving feedback on the meeting itself. The current bus service is a requirement under the planning permission granted by the Development Control Board on 11th June 2020. The Amazon warehouse will have over 3,000 employees and the special AZ FastTrack bus service that Go Coach are providing between Dartford and Gravesend is planned to reduce the number of extra cars on the road being used by Amazon employees going to and from work. Amazon staff can still drive to and park at the warehouse, provided there are at least two members of staff in that car.
The current bus service is a temporary service that will run until next April. At that time the Fastrack service as a whole will be revised under new contracts, and after that time Amazon will no longer be running this bus service. There will continue to be a bus service but how this will be provided is yet to be decided. For example, it could be that there is still the A and B bus with slightly changed routes; or maybe an A, B and C with limited stops; there are lots of possibilities. However, it seems certain that there will continue to be a frequent bus service to serve Amazon staff, with some services continuing to run overnight. It seems likely that the service will use single deck electric buses, although that is also not yet confirmed.
With regards the meeting itself, this was due to last for 1.5 hours; but actually took three hours due to the intense and challenging discussions taking place. Although this planning permission was granted in 2020, I only became aware of the proposed bus service when the trial bus service began a few weeks ago; and I therefore raised the issue of why there was no consultation with residents before the bus service was introduced, and why I as the local KCC Councillor had not been informed. I was told that with regards bus routes there was no requirement or need for consultation with residents, and no consultation normally takes place. However, in the case of this particular 24 hour service it was agreed that in hindsight it would have been better if there had been some prior consultation due to the problems now identified.
Go Coach said that their bus service is starting to be well used, especially during their peak periods around shift change times (peak periods being from about 5am until 8am, and from 5pm until 8pm). The bus service is now carrying about 1,400 passengers each day; overall that is about 180 bus journeys with an average of 8 passengers on each journey. At peak times the bus is quite full, but as we know at other times the buses are often almost empty. Overall, Amazon said that 59% of their staff are known to use some method of public transport in going to and from work.
I raised a number of issues aimed at helping residents who are being disturbed by the noise of buses travelling through Ingress Park. I requested that the bus service route be completely changed so that from Greenhithe Station buses use the A226 London Road instead of the FastTrack route. Go Coach said that using London Road would add 3 minutes to any journey at off-peak times, substantially more at busier times. After much discussion it was agreed that from 10pm until 5am buses would take the route along London Road, subject to getting approval from the Traffic Commissioner. It was also agreed that the bus would make an additional stop at the existing bus stops in London Road, near to the junction with Knockhall Road; again subject to agreement from the Traffic Commissioner. This means that the limited stop bus service would stop at Greenhithe Station, then London Road, and then the George and Dragon (in both directions).
With regards the rest of the night time period, I raised the issue of four buses an hour going through Ingress Park overnight being excessive. After a lengthy discussion the Committee concluded that (although four buses sounds excessive) this was in fact a half hourly service in each direction. The Committee decided to monitor the current situation, and discuss at future monthly Committee meetings.
The bus service is not yet fully registered and agreed by the Traffic Commissioners Office (an independent government body). Registration takes a standard 70 day period, and this timescale cannot normally be varied. However, it was agreed that a special request for a change rather than a new application be submitted to get the recently agreed changes approved sooner.
With regards driver complaints, I highlighted the complaints received from Ingress Park residents about the apparently aggressive driving by some Go Coach drivers at the junction of Ingress Park Avenue with the end of the FastTrack route from Greenhithe Station. It was agreed that the Go Coach Managing Director would arrange for some additional driver training on this matter. If there were any more similar incidents, it was agreed that I would ask residents to contact me by email at “peter.harman@kent.gov.uk” to register any future road safety complaints regarding Go Coach buses. I would then forward the email to the Managing Director of Go Coach to investigate, and I would also then keep the Committee updated.
It was also agreed that further Camera Enforcement would be introduced in the Ingress Park FastTrack tunnel to reduce illegal use by a few car drivers.
I will now continue to attend these committee meetings with a view to improving matters for residents, and I will also monitor and forward any further complaints to the committee Chair. I realise that this is not all that many residents would have hoped for, but it is important that we now have a seat at the table. I am sorry this is such a long post but I wanted residents to be aware of all the facts on this matter. I am of course happy to answer any questions on these issues.