MUCH has been made of the Government's desire to encourage people out of their cars and on to alternative modes of transport.

Buses could provide one way of easing congestion on our roads, but just how viable an option is it?

Chronicle reporter Stuart Woledge accompanied New Ash Green resident Colin Garrett on a journey from his village to Sevenoaks to find out.

THE 8.48am 489 pulled in to North Square on time.

This provided a chink of light in what was otherwise a gloomy Thursday morning.

Our round trip to Sevenoaks – a total distance of just 28 miles, but a journey that would take us longer than the advertised 5hr 36min – had got off to a flying start.

The first leg involved a detour to Gravesend on the 489 to pick up the connecting 308 to Sevenoaks.

We had been determined to take the quickest and easiest route. This was it.

There are no direct buses to Sevenoaks serving the inhabitants of New Ash Green and Hartley, all of whom pay council tax to Sevenoaks District Council.

"Sevenoaks has a lot there," said Lambardes resident Colin Garrett as he boarded the bus and sat down.

"Good schools, shops, restaurants and the newly revamped theatre.

"There are some very good reasons to go to Sevenoaks.

"It has a bit more to offer than our neighbouring towns."

Colin normally drives to Sevenoaks. He says on a good day this can take as little as 25 minutes.

But today is different because he is meeting a friend for lunch and wants to have a drink.

"If there was a good, frequent, reasonably priced service, I think people would use it," he said.

"We do go to Sevenoaks but at the moment we use the car. The trouble is if you go in the car it prohibits you from drinking."

More and more people – mainly pensioners and youngsters – boarded as the bus rumbled through Longfield, Southfleet and across the A2 into Gravesend. By the time we arrived, at 10.08am – four minutes later than advertised – it was around one quarter full.

Our bus driver, the first of four friendly escorts we were to have that day, pointed us in the direction of the next bus stop. Earlier he had helpfully told us we could travel all day on any Arriva bus for £6.20.

A 45-minute wait for the bus to Sevenoaks gave us plenty of time to find somewhere to get out of the wintry drizzle and have a cup of tea.

By the time the 308 arrived we were itching to get moving again.

"I wouldn't have liked to have stayed around Gravesend much longer," said Colin. "It was miserable weather and not very pleasant at all."

Our journey to Sevenoaks was estimated to take 1hr 19min and would take us through Istead, Meopham, Vigo, Wrotham, Borough Green, Ightham and Seal.

But by now the novelty was beginning to wear off.

"If I was on my own sitting here with no-one to talk to I'd end up looking at my watch the whole time," said Colin. "The biggest downside is the waste of time. I set out at 8.48am and it's now coming up to 11.05am and we're only at Borough Green and Wrotham Station."

Passing by Sevenoaks Hospital and Sevenoaks Station via Hillingdon Avenue, we arrived at the bus terminal in Buckhurst Avenue at 11.30am – 10minutes later than scheduled.

This gave Colin just over two hours to meet his friend in one of the town's restaurants, eat a hurried lunch and be back at the bus stop in time to meet me and pick up the 1.37pm 308 to Bluewater.

From here we could get the connecting 433 back to North Square.

The return journey saw us retrace our steps through Sevenoaks and the outlying villages of Seal, Ightham, Borough Green and Wrotham.

Pulling in to Vigo, Colin pointed out New Ash Green was just a stone's throw away, but we chugged past the turn-off and headed for Meopham instead. By now it was 2.45pm and we had been out and about for nearly seven hours.

"I'm getting a bit bored now," said Colin. "I could have been in Jordan by now. It's turning into a long day."

Arriving in Bluewater via Gravesend and Northfleet, we found ourselves with 38minutes to kill before getting our connection.

The last leg saw us board at 3.54pm along with youngsters laden with shopping bags making the most of the school half-term.

Travelling via Darenth Valley Hospital, Longfield and Hartley, we arrived back in North Square, New Ash Green on time at 4.28pm.

"All in all it's been a pretty long journey," said Colin. "I feel quite weary now and I certainly wouldn't do it again. We've proved that we can do it, but the question is do you want to?"

He added: "In terms of people who work in Sevenoaks but live in New Ash Green the bus is not an option.

"If you had a bus running directly from New Ash Green to Sevenoaks it would possibly take 40 minutes – an hour at the most.

"It's taken nearly six hours. In that time, if you were flying somewhere, you could certainly get to the Arab states."