As far as possible, we will try to keep you up to date on our website.

Click here- for the Bus User April 2022 newsletter-

This month’s Buswatch News includes:-

• Mill Road Park & Ride trial is abandoned
• 2022 Bus fare comparison*
• Bus Times timetable magazine will not be published again
• BendyBuses are to be phased out.
• Brighton and Hove bus company drivers to give change.

* The comparison of local fares was very complex and time consuming to compile- Thanks Andrew. However, it is useful for users of Brighton & Hove bus company services to understand fares are even more complex than are shown!
Sometimes discounts, and special fares are available. For example- if two or four people are travelling together, using the company's bus fare app, all can travel at a discount (to partly mimic car travel). Also if you travel more than one day per week, on Contactless- tap on-tap off fares; then each extra day you travel, the cheaper your daily fare will become- which is helpful if you travel perhaps three days a week- for work, or leisure.

Coronavirus update: While it is no longer compulsory for passengers to wear a mask; however, many bus companys' recommend that bus user's still use a mask. Safety enhancements such as keeping windows open, and enhanced cleaning; have been maintained.
Bus services have stabilised, so timetables rarely change.

Watch out for many bus companies only running Sunday services, over the Queen's Platinum jubilee bank holidays on the 2nd & 3rd June. The only Compass Travel services running will be the 37 etc. in Brighton.

All our information is thought to be correct as of 25th May 2022.

What we do:

Brighton Area Buswatch deals mostly with strategic issues affecting lots of people. We campaign for improvements to bus services and fares on behalf of bus users. Our policy is to build relationships with local Councils, local interest groups and bus companies to find out about their plans so we can make suggestions and try to influence them. Criticising authorities after they've implemented changes is usually too late to make a difference, so we try to avoid this situation occurring. However we will sometimes suggest lessons to be learnt, especially if we think it could help to avoid mistakes being repeated.

We are lucky to have excellent bus services in much of our area which are well-used and very few require public subsidies. Recently around 50 million passenger journeys were made by bus in Brighton & Hove which compares with under 20 million journeys in Southampton or Portsmouth which are similar in size. This is a tremendous achievement but we recognise that people's expectations are always rising and there are always improvements that can be made.

If you have a particular problem regarding a bus service or an incident on a recent journey we advise you in the first instance, to contact the bus company concerned. In our experience most local bus companies are keen to receive feedback and will do their best to help if they can. Our partners at Bus Users UK can deal with appeals if a customer is not satisfied with the response from a bus company or local authority.

What we have achived in the recent past includes:-

• We suggested a one-hour single ticket, which has been introduced, so enabling passengers to change buses without needing to pay again.
  
• We successfully campaigned for Saver tickets, Key Card and m-tickets to be valid on all Council supported bus services in Brighton & Hove.
  
• We rejoined the Council's Quality Bus partnership, enabling us to influence planning decisions affecting all local bus companies.
• We suggested improvements to late night services to Goldstine Valley and to lewes; and have been pressing for improvements to route 37 to Meadowview and the Bristol Estate; plus later Sunday evening jouneys to Worthing.
• We have expressed concerns about the revised Valley Gardens scheme. This would reduced the number of lanes for general traffic, so risks causing buses severe delays and unreliability problems, particularly when traffic is busier (especially at weekends and on nice summer days).

More News:
Below, you can see our poster which has appeared on buses. If you are interested in joining, also click here for our 'takaway leaflet'