THE regional boss of Stagecoach has apologised to bus passengers for the unacceptable standard of service in east Kent. Andrew Dyer admitted that the level of service was "not up to acceptable standards".

He said: "I would like to apologise to anyone who has not had the right standard of service." When asked whether Stagecoach would consider compensating dissatisfied customers with a reduced ticket or a free journey, he said he believed passengers were more interested in an improved level of service.

He said: "If it were me, I would just want the service to be better next time. I am not particularly interested in getting a voucher for 10p off next time I go shopping. So we have not considered a general special offer. Perhaps we should. But the most important thing we must concentrate on is delivering the service right every day."

Mr Dyer said that changes would not be brought about by a Kentish Gazette newspaper petition and any subsequent pressure applied by Transport Secretary Stephen Byers or his traffic commissioner. He said that the key lay in tackling certain issues, some of which, he claimed, the company could not address alone.

He said he was satisfied with his east Kent management team and praised them as one of the best Kent has seen in some time. On drivers, he said that, like any company with a large workforce, there were "a few bad apples that have to be sorted out". But he said the vast majority did a very good job.

"If the passenger has the date, time and bus route number, or if they have kept their ticket that would identify the journey it was issued on, then we can trace the member of staff concerned," he said. "We will have to improve our training and our encouragement of good practise and, if necessary, discipline."

Stagecoach has an internal target of 95 per cent of journeys running within advertised times. Mr Dyer said that the latest figures showed that the punctuality figure in east Kent was around 90 per cent. He also claimed that less than 1 per cent of buses were cancelled. "There is clearly room to improve," he added.