The first bus service started to run from Folkestone Harbour to Canterbury. The service was started by Sergeant Brothers with open-top charabancs with solid rubber tyres. They ran for a few years, then the East Kent Road Car Company took over and bought them out.
"They never minded how many stood in the gangway as long as you could get on. Sometimes, when it was fully loaded, they had a job getting up Grace Hill in Folkestone. When it rained the driver had to stop and pull a canvas hood over. I think when the buses started, the railways began losing passengers, because going by bus you could go right into the towns, whereas you had quite a walk from Canterbury South or Folkestone Central Stations."