January/early Feb 2013 News

Welcome to 2013: After such a mild start to the year, it was perhaps too much to expect that we would escape without any snow. Hilly areas of the city and rural districts suffered most from the recent disruption. However, in general it seems the local authorities have learnt lessons from previous years and have managed to keep most main roads open.

Bus service changes: from 21st April 2013

Service 52: Now service 52 Saver tickets are available to use on Brighton & Hove bus services, the council is considering making most journies on the service '52' 15 minutes earlier (this being particularly useful for the passengers heading for the city centre, about 9am).

This idea is not set in stone. If you use the service 52, and would like to comment visit the councils website, or phone Btn 292480; by the 22nd February.

Service 57 : Compass travel would like to continue to offer a Sunday extention from the city centre to Knoll Estate and Sainsbury's. However to make the service more economic some chnges have been made.

service 77/78/79: Summer enhancements to 'Breeze up to the downs'' services have been announced.

Service 95: Due to congestion, this bus will start 5 minutes earlier. For more details on the above service click here.

Sheffield Park services: This summer there will be bus services to Sheffield Park station and Gardens, on Saturdays and Sundays (click for more details).

Service 700: From Sunday 5th May, there will be changes to timings on some service 700 services, to improve reliability,to cope with heavier summer traffic. Contract stagecoachbus.com, or phone 0845 121 0190, for more details.

Also: the Big Lemon are likely to restart its summer Sunday walks programme (see the Big Lemon).

The Brighton & Hove Bus Company has announced a number of changes to bus services from the start of its summer timetable on 21 April, most of which are improvements. Many timetable changes were suggested by Brighton Area Buswatch and we are grateful to the company for acknowledging our involvement in the process. Full details are available on www.buses.co.uk (or click here) These are some of the highlights:

Route 1 - An improved morning peak service from Mile Oak and a better Sunday morning service.
Route 6 - More evening buses from Brighton Station providing a 15 minute frequency (currently half hourly). These journeys will evenly spaced with route 1 to provide a 7-8 minute frequency between Churchill Square and Portslade via New Church Road. Regular users will know how busy these evening buses can be during the summer months so the extra services are very welcome.
Route 12/12X Extra peak hour journeys for commuters at the busiest times. There is also an improved Sunday evening service, eliminating 60 minute gaps from Brighton in the current timetable as identified by Brighton Area Buswatch. Again, these extra buses are very welcome. These days, the 12 is busy at all times so the extra Sunday evening service is as important as the weekday extras.
13X – Re-introduced for the summer at an hourly frequency between Brighton Station and Eastbourne Pier via Beachy Head. This service ran half hourly during the (very wet) summer of 2012 and we regret that the company is unable to justify more than an hourly service this year. However, taken with the additional peak hour journeys on route 12X we feel this timetable should overcome most overcrowding problems that can occur on late afternoon buses from Brighton during the summer months.
23 – Evening and Sunday service re-timed to provide a more evenly spaced service through Queens Park with route 81A and to tie in better with hospital shift and visiting times. This was suggested by Brighton Area Buswatch
28/29 – The weekday evening service is re-timed to provide a regular half hourly frequency between Brighton & Lewes as suggested by Brighton Area Buswatch. There are also improvements to peak time services and an improved Sunday evening service between Brighton & Lewes.
37/37A The Monday to Saturday daytime frequency is reduced to hourly between Brighton Station & Bristol Estate, due to low usage. Compass Bus service 37B provides another bus each hour over the 37 route so the overall frequency will be approximately every half hour. It is very rare for Brighton & Hove to reduce the daytime frequency, but the company does not receive a subsidy for the current service and usage is low compared to other routes. So while we regret the reduction we accept that the company cannot be expected to run a service at a loss.

If you are concerned about any of these changes (especially the reduced service 37) we would be interested to know. At the present time we are not aware of any changes proposed by other bus companies in our area.

continued in next column

January and early Febuary 2013 News: continued

New Managing Director for Brighton & Hove Bus & Coach Company

Martin Harris has been appointed to succeed Roger French from 1 April. Mr Harris is currently Commercial Director at Go North East which is part of the Go-Ahead group along with Brighton & Hove. He began his career in Brighton with the old Southdown company in 1980 and worked for Brighton & Hove for several years, so he is very familiar with our area. We look forward to welcoming him back in his new role.

Some changes to Burgess Hill services 34 & 35 from 26th January 2013

After local consultation, some changes will be made to Metrobus services 34 & 35 from the 26th January. This includes a small route variation, differentiating eastward and westward journeys, with a 'E' and 'W' surfix, and some changes to timings- see changes to Metrobus service 34/35.

It is good to see that a Burgess Hill Saver is valid on all Metrobus, Sussex Bus and Compass Travel services in Burgess Hill.

Twenty more new double deckers for
Brighton & Hove

Brighton & Hove is buying 20 more Volvo double deckers similar to those running on routes 1, 6, 7, & 49. They will be conventional diesel vehicles rather than the diesel-electric hybrids in use on routes 7 & 28 (which were partly funded by the Government’s Green Bus Fund). The new buses are due to arrive in the spring and will be used on routes 49 and 5/5A/5B. The company says hybrid buses have been very successful although it has no plans for further hybrids this year. Hybrid buses cost around one-third more than conventional buses, but the position of the batteries means less space is available for buggies. Over 70 new low emission double deckers have been purchased by the bus company since 2011 enabling the replacement of less efficient older vehicles.

New 20mph speed limits may affect your bus service

Brighton & Hove City Council has approved the introduction of blanket 20mph speed limits through an extended area covering central Hove and Brighton, stretching from Sackville Road in the west to Freshfield Road/Gerneral Hospital in the east, and Vogue Gyratory in the north.
The main aim is to improve road safety, paricularly for cyclists and pedestrians. The main exception to this near universal 20 MPH speed limit over an extended central area, is the A259 coast road.

The main area of concern is services running in the early morning, evenings, at night; where the significantly slower running times could affect the viability of some services (or cause services to run less often).
However there still remains some concern that slower daytime journeys will increase unrelibility (as buses have less 'catch-up time' at the end of each journey); or to councteract this, bus companies use extra buses to run the same services, resulting in a modest increase in bus fares. The third concern is on less frequent services- if slower speeds mean a reliable hourly service is no longer possible, then it would either require a difficult to remember 70(?) minute service, or parts of the route could be axed (unlikely).
We will have to wait and see.

Brighton Station Gateway scheme delayed

Proposals to revamp the area at the front of Brighton Station have been delayed by a couple of months. This follows objections from North Laine residents who are unhappy about proposals for a taxi rank in Frederick Place. The City council is committed to investigating the concerns expressed in more detail before a final decision is taken to proceed with the plans. All those who know the area will appreciate how difficult it is to come up with a solution which benefits most people without creating unacceptable side effects for local residents. The City Council should be commended for carrying out widespread consultation with local communities and station users and for taking time to consider the full implications before making a final decision.

Work starts on new bus and cycle lanes in Lewes Road

Brighton & Hove City Council lost no time in starting construction work on new bus and cycle lanes between Lewes Road bus garage and Falmer. Work began within days of final approval being given and is expected to continue throughout 2013. Although not without criticism from some members of Brighton Area Buswatch; the scheme received enthusiastic support from all political parties at the Transport Committee meeting last November. The scheme includes an innovative design of bus stops where cycle lanes pass behind the stop in a separated cycle lane, with bus passengers waiting in a 40 metre long island, large enough to accommodate two bendy buses. This feature eliminates the potential conflict between buses and cyclists as they approach bus stops. The design has already attracted interest from the Department of Transport and Transport for London.

New members wanted!
Brighton Area Buswatch is keen to attract new members and we hope to launch a publicity campaign this spring with support from local bus companies. We are a voice for local bus users and work with bus companies, Councils and other interested groups. Over 44 million journeys are made by bus in Brighton & Hove with more in neighbouring areas. This is the highest level of bus usage anywhere in England outside London. You may think your local bus service is pretty good - but it could be even better! We want your support so we can represent more bus users. If you know anyone who may be interested please pass on this newsletter.

More reports please

If you are aware of any bus issues in your area, especially outside Brighton & Hove we would love to hear from you. We cover an area from Worthing in the west, to Haywards Heath and Lewes in the north and Seaford in the east.