More than 860 people signed a petition to save the 477 route from Orpington to Dartford after it was announced that the service would be scrapped altogether from October.

Arriva has now made a U-turn on cancelling the 477 service and it has been announced that it will now continue to run at a reduced frequency from the Autumn.

This is a further reduction to the service as the route has already gone through many changes this year.

Since April 17, the 477 now only runs as far as Dartford, no longer serving Darent Valley Hospital and Bluewater Shopping Centre.

The service no longer runs during the late evenings, with the last bus leaving Orpington bus station at 6.20pm on a weekday.

The Sunday service was also fully scrapped.

A regular passenger on the route previously told the News Shopper that it had a history of being unreliable but was still an essential service for people living in the area.

Peter Adams, 74, said he was “sick to death with the appalling service” back in May.

He has since seen an improvement in reliability on the route more recently but explained that there were still problems regarding the service.

Kent County Council has said that bus use across Kent currently stands at around 80 per cent of pre-pandemic levels, with the use in the off-peak being much less than this.

Arriva added that coronavirus has affected bus patronage levels negatively – forcing operators to make difficult decisions in reducing or withdrawing services.

Laura Trott MP, Conservative Member of Parliament for Sevenoaks & Swanley, has been campaigning for an improvement of bus services in and around Swanley.

She wrote in a statement on Facebook: “After the rumours circulating on the #477 bus route, I am delighted to confirm that following our campaign, Arriva has chosen NOT to cancel the existing #Orpington to #Dartford service. “This is excellent news for the people of #Hextable and #Crockenhill in particular, who at one stage feared they would have no bus route whatsoever.

“I continue to press for more assistance to improve local bus routes (including school bus routes) both in and around #Swanley, as well as other parts of my constituency.

“Earlier this year, it was announced by the Government that it had allocated around £11m over a period of three years towards funding Kent bus services from October this year (as part of the Bus Service Improvement Plan).”

A spokesperson for Arriva said: “The 477 route is a core part of our network, and not a route we wish to withdraw.

“COVID19 has affected bus patronage levels negatively, and it has forced bus operators to make some very difficult and challenging decisions to reduce or withdraw services.

“We will always do our utmost to ensure every alternative is reviewed before reaching a decision to withdraw a service.

“In this instance, there is an option whereby we do not need to withdraw the service, and we have gladly pursued this option in reducing service frequency instead.”

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