Burst water main in Kingston causes major delays for Kingston University’s free buses

KU students getting on the KU1 bus to Seething Wells.

A burst water main in Kingston town centre caused major delays for the Kingston University Intersite Bus Services on Tuesday.

KU advised the students benefitting from the free university buses going between the university’s campuses and student accommodations to use alternative buses or means of transport and warned them not to drive unless absolutely necessary for the next five days.

On Monday @KingstonUniBus, the official twitter account for updates on the university buses, tweeted: “KU1 buses stuck in Kingston due to burst water main, some 2 hours late. May be a while before departures from Roehampton Vale, Kingston Hill and Seething Wells.”

The KU2 bus has already been experiencing delays in the first weeks of this semester because of roadworks to replace a gas line in Surbiton.

The work on the gas line is expected to take another five weeks, and the KU2 will therefore be on diversion in the meantime.

“KU2 and KU3 will be on diversion for five more weeks,” @KingstonUniBus tweeted on Monday.

The roadwork is a big inconvenience for a lot of people living in Kingston and Surbiton as the traffic moves slowly, affecting private cars, taxis and buses.

The delays have also inconvenienced a lot of students as they use the buses to get to and from campus.

“It’s just really annoying that the buses aren’t here on time. I mean, I’ve got a lot of things I need to make, and walking just takes such a long time,” a Kingston University student said.

By Malin Lervaag