The M2 Motorway Bridge Replacement Bus Service

Thursday 17th August 2023

Readers will be aware of my penchant for quirky bus routes so I couldn’t resist a recommendation to try out the M2 Motorway Replacement Bus Service that’s running until the end of the year.

I have to admit I never knew there was a footpath exclusively for pedestrians and cyclists built right alongside the M2 as it spans over the River Medway until Richard Lewis kindly tipped me off about this special shuttle bus operation while the footpath is closed.

The bus terminates at both ends of the footpath on the north side of the M2. The western end is on the A228 Sandridge Hill north of junction 2 on the M2 and the village of Cuxton and the eastern end is on Wouldham Road in Borstal.

National Highways has done well to make people aware of the closure which started in June and continues until the end of November while improved safety features with higher barriers are being constructed all along the footpath over the bridge.

Notices at both ends of the footpath explain what’s happening and provide details of the shuttle bus which operates daily every hour between 06:00 and 19:30 leaving Borstal on the hour and Cuxton on the half hour.

A temporary bus stop sign has been installed and at the Cuxton end National Highways has coned off one of the lanes on Sandridge Hill approaching the roundabout for the M2 junction to enable the minibus to stand safely in between journeys. I imagine this causes some congestion at peak times.

There’s less room at the Borstal end of the route …

… with the minibus either waiting on the pavement under the M2 or in the road.

There’s an intriguing device at each terminal point inviting potential passengers requiring assistance to contact the driver through an intercom. I didn’t press this as while I was at both ends so was the bus and driver but I can’t imagine you get to speak to the actual driver as when I travelled there were two separate buses and drivers working the shuttle.

The shuttle is being operated by ASD Coaches based in Strood. They’re using standard Mercedes minibuses with manual side doors and space at the back can be used for cycles.

I took a ride up and down the service leaving Borstal at 11:00 and returning from Cuxton at 11:30. The route heads north from Borstal along the east bank of the River Medway to Rochester where it passes over the River before heading south to Cuxton on the A228.

It takes just under 15 minutes so one bus can easily do the hourly shuttle but when I got to Cuxton at about 11:45 there was another bus on the stand to return on the 12:00 departure and I’m guessing it was a meal break time for the arriving driver.

On the way back you get a good view of the Medway Bridge – its motorway and footpath.

At the Cuxton end the minibus can turn by using the roundabout for the A228 and M2 and at the Bortsal end where space is much tighter the bus turned by reversing into a side road just south of where the M2 passes over.

If you like quirky bus rides, then this is certainly one for you.

Roger French

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