The Thanet Loop is a circular bus route which operates on the

Isle of Thanet The Isle of Thanet () is a peninsula forming the easternmost part of Kent, England. While in the past it was separated from the mainland by the Wantsum Channel, it is no longer an island. Archaeological remains testify to its settlement in a ...

peninsula in

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

, England. It is operated by

Stagecoach South East Stagecoach South East is the trading name of East Kent Road Car Company Limited, a bus operator based in Canterbury; it provides services in Kent and East Sussex, in South East England. It is a subsidiary of Stagecoach Group. History Stagecoac ...

History

The route was introduced in 2004 following a grant of £447,000 from the

Department for Transport The Department for Transport (DfT) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport ...

and had an initial fleet of 18 buses. In 2013, 27

Alexander Dennis Enviro200 The Alexander Dennis Enviro200 (previously known as the TransBus Enviro200) is a midibus that was manufactured by TransBus International and later Alexander Dennis between 2003 and 2018. The original TransBus Enviro200 design was innovative but ...

buses were purchased for the route. In 2018, the route carried over four million passengers. In 2019, a new fleet of 24 new

Alexander Dennis Enviro200 MMC The Alexander Dennis Enviro200 MMC, also marketed as the Alexander Dennis Enviro200, is a single-decker city bus produced by Alexander Dennis since 2014 as the successor to the Alexander Dennis Enviro200, Enviro200 midibus and Alexander Dennis E ...

buses was introduced.

Route

The service has a circular route which passes through

Ramsgate Ramsgate is a seaside resort, seaside town and civil parish in the district of Thanet District, Thanet in eastern Kent, England. It was one of the great English seaside towns of the 19th century. In 2021 it had a population of 42,027. Ramsgate' ...

Margate Margate is a seaside resort, seaside town in the Thanet District of Kent, England. It is located on the north coast of Kent and covers an area of long, north-east of Canterbury and includes Cliftonville, Garlinge, Palm Bay, UK, Palm Bay and W ...

, and

Broadstairs Broadstairs () is a coastal town on the Isle of Thanet in the Thanet district of east Kent, England, about east of London. It is part of the civil parish of Broadstairs and St Peter's, which includes St Peter's, and had a population in 2011 ...

. It also calls at

Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Hospital The Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Hospital is a health facility in Margate, Kent, England. It is managed by the East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust. History The hospital has its origins in the Margate Cottage Hospital which was ...

and

Westwood Cross Westwood Cross is an open, pedestrianised shopping centre located at Westwood, Kent, England. It opened in 2005, and since 2008 has incorporated a casino, bowling alley cinema and bingo hall. History Westwood Cross is situated on the site ...

. Buses operate at a maximum frequency of every 8 minutes Monday-Saturday, and every 10 minutes on Sundays.

References

Bus routes in England Stagecoach Group Transport in Kent Circular bus routes {{bus-stub