Brighton %26 Hove (bus company)
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Brighton & HoveCompanies House extract company no 307468
Brighton Hove Bus and Coach Company Limited formerly Brighton Hove and District Omnibus Company Limited
operates most bus services in the city of
Brighton and Hove Brighton and Hove () is a city and unitary authority in East Sussex, England. It consists primarily of the settlements of Brighton and Hove, alongside neighbouring villages. Often referred to synonymously as Brighton, the City of Brighton and H ...
in southern England. It is a subsidiary of the
Go-Ahead Group The Go-Ahead Group plc is a passenger transport company based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, with operations in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Singapore, Norway and Germany. Formerly listed on the London Stock Exchange, in 2022 it was purchased ...
.


History

Brighton & Hove was established in 1884 as Brighton, Hove and Preston United Omnibus Company. In 1916,
Thomas Tilling The Tilling Group was one of two conglomerates that controlled almost all of the major bus operators in the United Kingdom between World Wars I and II and until nationalisation in 1948. Tilling, together with the other conglomerate, British El ...
took over the company and replaced all its remaining horse buses with motor buses. In November 1935 it was formed as the Brighton Hove and District Omnibus Company. In January 1969 it merged with
Southdown Motor Services Southdown Motors Services Ltd (although this was the legal name of the company (until 1992) it was normally referred to as Southdown Motor Services) was a bus and coach operator in East and West Sussex and parts of Hampshire, in southern Engl ...
as a subsidiary of the National Bus Company. In January 1985 in preparation for
privatisation Privatization (also privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation when ...
, Brighton & Hove was separated from Southdown. In May 1987 it was sold in a
management buyout A management buyout (MBO) is a form of acquisition in which a company's existing managers acquire a large part, or all, of the company, whether from a parent company or individual. Management-, and/or leveraged buyout became noted phenomena of 1 ...
. In November 1993 Brighton & Hove was sold to the
Go-Ahead Group The Go-Ahead Group plc is a passenger transport company based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, with operations in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Singapore, Norway and Germany. Formerly listed on the London Stock Exchange, in 2022 it was purchased ...
.Brighton & Hove's Transport History Trail
Brighton & Hove
In 1997, the Go-Ahead Group purchased Brighton Transport (1993) Ltd. for £5.76 million. Brighton Transport was the former municipally-owned bus operator in the city which latterly traded as Brighton Blue Bus following a
management buyout A management buyout (MBO) is a form of acquisition in which a company's existing managers acquire a large part, or all, of the company, whether from a parent company or individual. Management-, and/or leveraged buyout became noted phenomena of 1 ...
in 1993. Go-Ahead would merge its operations with those of Brighton & Hove following the completion of the purchase.


Operations and routes

The company's routes cover a large area encompassing the whole of the city, some parts of
West West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sunset, Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic languages, German ...
and
East Sussex East Sussex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England on the English Channel coast. It is bordered by Kent to the north and east, West Sussex to the west, and Surrey to the north-west. The largest settlement in East Su ...
and a single route into
Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
. There are 40 separately-numbered standard routes. Frequencies range from every 5 minutes to two journeys per day. In addition, there are nine night bus routes and 19 school bus routes. In September 2005, the company took over many routes previously operated partly or entirely by
Stagecoach South Stagecoach South is a bus operator providing services in South East England. It is a subsidiary of Stagecoach. It operates services in Hampshire, Surrey, and Sussex with some routes extending into Brighton and Wiltshire. It operates 487 buses fr ...
, the best example being the ''Coaster'' services 12 and 13X to Seaford and Eastbourne. The company operates from three depots: Conway Street, Whitehawk and Lewes Road. Conway Street also serves as the company's headquarters. The company also has four outstations in Newhaven, Eastbourne, Uckfield and Durrington.


Metro services

During 1996/97, five of the most popular routes (1/1A, 5/5A/5B, 7, 25 and 49) were enhanced with new buses and individual route branding. All five routes offer regular services, modern buses and a wide range of connections throughout the centre of Brighton and Hove, reinforced by a colour-coded diagrammatic map Since 2004, Brighton & Hove have gradually introduced new buses to the Metro routes, the majority being
Scania OmniDekka The East Lancs OmniDekka (later sold as the Darwen OmniDekka and Optare OmniDekka) is a double-decker bus built for sale in the UK market, introduced by East Lancashire Coachbuilders in 2003. Originally built on Scania N94UD chassis at Euro ...
s. In April 2011, Metro 7 was removed from the Metro network and rebranded as Route 7 with brand new
Wright Eclipse Gemini The Wright Eclipse Gemini is a low-floor double-decker bus body that was built by Wrightbus since 2001, based on the single-deck Wright Eclipse design. The second-generation Eclipse Gemini 2 was launched in 2009, followed by the third-generat ...
bodied
Volvo B9TL The Volvo B9TL is a low-floor double-decker bus built by Volvo from 2002 until 2018. It superseded the Volvo Super Olympian and the Volvo B7TL. The 2-axle version has been superseded by the Volvo B5TL in 2014 and the 3-axle version has been sup ...
s operating on the route. The last Metro branded buses in service were the
Scania OmniCity The Scania OmniCity is an integrally constructed transverse-engined low floor city bus that was available from Scania on the European market between 1997 and 2012. The OmniCity was introduced in September 1996 as the first product based on t ...
double deckers delivered in 2009, mostly operating on Metro 5. The final few examples of Metro branding were removed in October 2013.


The Regency Route

The Regency Route (29) is one of Brighton & Hove's branded routes. It began as route 729 by the nationalised
Southdown Motor Services Southdown Motors Services Ltd (although this was the legal name of the company (until 1992) it was normally referred to as Southdown Motor Services) was a bus and coach operator in East and West Sussex and parts of Hampshire, in southern Engl ...
subsidiary of the National Bus Company, of which Brighton & Hove was a part, and the route was part of the NBC's cross-country "Stagecoach" network. It runs from Churchill Square to
Tunbridge Wells Royal Tunbridge Wells is a town in Kent, England, southeast of central London. It lies close to the border with East Sussex on the northern edge of the Weald, High Weald, whose sandstone geology is exemplified by the rock formation High Roc ...
, using specially-branded
Scania OmniDekka The East Lancs OmniDekka (later sold as the Darwen OmniDekka and Optare OmniDekka) is a double-decker bus built for sale in the UK market, introduced by East Lancashire Coachbuilders in 2003. Originally built on Scania N94UD chassis at Euro ...
s, which have high-backed Fainsa seats. Route 29 runs half-hourly, with one bus per hour serving
Isfield Isfield is a small village and civil parish in the Wealden District of East Sussex in England, located north-east of Lewes.OS Explorer map Eastbourne and Beachy Head Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publish ...
and the other running via Rose Hill between
Lewes Lewes () is the county town of East Sussex, England. It is the police and judicial centre for all of Sussex and is home to Sussex Police, East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service, Lewes Crown Court and HMP Lewes. The civil parish is the centre of ...
and
Uckfield Uckfield () is a town in the Wealden District of East Sussex in South East England. The town is on the River Uck, one of the tributaries of the River Ouse, on the southern edge of the Weald. Etymology 'Uckfield', first recorded in writing as ...
. Route 28 follows the same route from Brighton to Lewes, with a service every half-hour just to Lewes and an alternate service every half-hour to
Ringmer Ringmer is a village and civil parish in the Lewes District of East Sussex, England.OS Explorer map Eastbourne and Beachy Head Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publishing Date:2009. The village is east of ...
, providing a combined service every 10 minutes between Brighton and Lewes.


Competition

Brighton & Hove face limited competition on some of its network of routes.
The Big Lemon The Big Lemon is a bus and coach operator in Brighton, East Sussex, Bristol and Bath. It is registered as a Community Interest Company. History The Big Lemon was founded by Tom Druitt in 2007. After gaining an operator licence, the firs ...
bus operator, a community interest company founded in 2007 who used to run a route between the University of Sussex and central Brighton, is the largest competitor. It was set up in an effort to make Brighton and Hove's public transport options more sustainable by using biodiesel collected by the company from businesses around the city as well as offering private hire services. The Big Lemon originally operated an express service numbered 42X which ran from
Brighton station Brighton railway station is the southern terminus of the Brighton Main Line in England, and the principal station serving the city of Brighton, East Sussex. It is from via . The station is managed by Govia Thameslink Railway, which operates ...
to Falmer station using elderly step entranced buses. However the service was dropped in December 2007. A relaunch of the service commenced in early 2008 numbered 42. In 2010 the company started two more services, 43 and 44. However just months after it began route 43 ended due to low passenger numbers. In 2011 The Big Lemon faced competition from Brighton & Hove Buses in that Brighton Buses lowered its fares to match fares charged by The Big Lemon. In January 2012 The Big Lemon stopped running route 42 and continued to run route 44 only, split into two shuttles numbered UB1 and UB2. The Big Lemon subsequently ceased operation of these services, and shuttle UB1 is operated by the University of Brighton. Other companies which run into the city include fellow Go-Ahead Group operator Metrobus, which operates routes 270 (to/from
East Grinstead East Grinstead is a town in West Sussex, England, near the East Sussex, Surrey, and Kent borders, south of London, northeast of Brighton, and northeast of the county town of Chichester. Situated in the extreme northeast of the county, the civ ...
), 271, 272 and 273 (all to/from
Crawley Crawley () is a large town and borough in West Sussex, England. It is south of London, north of Brighton and Hove, and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Crawley covers an area of and had a population of 106,597 at the time of th ...
, with the former two also serving RSC Hospital), as well as
Stagecoach South Stagecoach South is a bus operator providing services in South East England. It is a subsidiary of Stagecoach. It operates services in Hampshire, Surrey, and Sussex with some routes extending into Brighton and Wiltshire. It operates 487 buses fr ...
which runs route 17
Horsham Horsham is a market town on the upper reaches of the River Arun on the fringe of the Weald in West Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Nearby to ...
to Churchill Square and route 700
Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...
to Brighton.


Subsidies

Under the
Transport Act 1985 The Transport Act 1985 was an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom. It introduced privatised and deregulated bus services throughout Great Britain and came into effect in October of 1986. The Act was created as a response to growing concern ...
Brighton and Hove City Council Brighton and Hove City Council is the local authority of the city of Brighton and Hove. It is a unitary authority, having the powers of a non-metropolitan county and district council combined. It provides a full range of local government services ...
has the authority to put out to tender contracts (>5 years) to fill gaps in bus availability that arise due to lack of profitability. For example, the 81, 81A and 81C buses are subsidised, depending on route, from .03p (based on operations Monday – Saturday services) up to £1.32 (based on Winter Sunday evening services) for each fare bought.Brighton and Hove Council bus service review
/ref> The council is also obliged to subsidise school bus routes. For example, the 91 Cardinal Newman School bus is currently subsidised at £4.10 per single journey. Brighton & Hove Bus and Coach Company operates the majority of the contracts.


Fares and ticketing

The company operates, to a large extent, a flat fare system – people can travel on almost all of its buses, and to almost everywhere on its network, for fixed prices. The CitySAVER ticket allows people to travel as often as they want for one day anywhere on any combination of buses, with a few exceptions. There are also longer-period season tickets, there are tickets valid also with local rail services and other bus operators, and various concessions for students, people under 16, passengers boarding at Brighton Station and several others . In late 2011, the company began supporting Go-Ahead's The Key smartcard a bid to curb ticket sharing and speed up boarding times. The new system has yet to prove itself with many older people and foreign students needing direction on how to actually use "the Key". It can also be used to store train tickets. Brighton & Hove buses also support The Key's keyGo system for pay-as-you-go travel within the PlusBus zones in Brighton, Eastbourne and Lewes. Journeys are charged per touch in, and are capped daily. If a train journey has been made on the same day with keyGo, the system will cap bus transport to the relevant PlusBus cap.. Contactless payments were first made available in November 2018 as a method for payment, and in September 2019, the company piloted the first tap-on, tap-off contactless scheme in the UK alongside its sister company, Metrobus, with aims to improve boarding times and make travelling convenient.


Named buses

Many of the company's buses have the name of a famous person commemorated on the front. In 1999 the company ran a competition asking local residents to name the 20 new double-decker buses that had just been added to its fleet. The company had started with names such as ''Brighton Belle'', ''Brighton Rock'', ''Brighton Pier'', ''
Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club (), commonly referred to simply as Brighton, is an English professional football club based in the city of Brighton and Hove. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league ...
'', ''Hove Actually'' and ''Brighton and Hove in Bloom'', and then asked local residents for help. It considered the options of naming the buses after landmarks in the town, people from the past, and present day celebrities with local connections. In April 2004 the company added another 18 buses to its fleet, and continued the practice of naming them. The company's stated rule for choosing the name was: "The nominations must have made a significant contribution to the life of the local area during their lifetime and must have since died." However several living people are in fact featured on the bus fronts. In September 2005 the company added a further 19 buses to its fleet, naming them after people who had "made great contributions to the city" – and including more female names, after complaints that the system had been too male-dominated up to that point. For a year one of the buses had been named after local historian and journalist Adam Trimingham.


Fleet

As of August 2016 the fleet consists of 326 buses and coaches. The company mainly uses Scania Omnidekkas, Wright Eclipse Geminis, and Wright Streetdecks. The fleet also features Mercedes-Benz Citaro articulated buses. In October 2019 the company received 30 Alexander Dennis Euro VI Microhybrid Enviro 400s to be used on Route 5 in Brighton and Hove's ULEZ (Ultra Low Emission Zone). In April 2022, the bus company announced that by the end of 2022 all
Articulated bus An articulated bus, also referred to as a banana bus, bendy bus, tandem bus, vestibule bus, wiggle wagon, stretch bus, or an accordion bus, (either a motor bus or trolleybus) is an articulated vehicle used in public transportation. It is usua ...
es ("bendy buses") in its fleet would be leaving the streets. The
Mercedes-Benz Citaro The Mercedes-Benz Citaro is a single-decker, rigid or articulated bus manufactured by Mercedes-Benz/EvoBus. Introduced in 1997, the Citaro is available in a range of configurations, and is in widespread use throughout Europe and parts of Asia ...
buses started on Route 25 in April 2010 and were used on the 25, 25X and N25 routes from
Old Steine The Old Steine () is a thoroughfare in central Brighton, East Sussex, and is the southern terminus of the A23. The southern end leads to Marine Parade, the Brighton seafront and the Palace Pier. The Old Steine is also the site of a number of Ci ...
or
Portslade Portslade is a western suburb of the city of Brighton and Hove, England. Portslade Village, the original settlement a mile inland to the north, was built up in the 16th century. The arrival of the railway from Brighton in 1840 encouraged rapid de ...
to the
University of Brighton The University of Brighton is a public university based on four campuses in Brighton and Eastbourne on the south coast of England. Its roots can be traced back to 1858 when the Brighton School of Art was opened in the Royal Pavilion. It achieve ...
and the
University of Sussex , mottoeng = Be Still and Know , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £14.4 million (2020) , budget = £319.6 million (2019–20) , chancellor = Sanjeev Bhaskar , vice_chancellor = Sasha Roseneil , ...
. The removal of these buses had several reasons, such as the usage of these buses was much lower after the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
; the buses use up much more fuel and don’t meet requirements for Brighton’s ULEZ; and that parts are becoming more difficult to obtain as the number of these buses is low in the United Kingdom. They are set to be replaced with ‘mid-life’ double-decker buses transferred from
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
. The final "bendy bus" on Brighton's streets ran on .


Depots

*Brighton (Lewes Road) *Brighton (Whitehawk Road) *Hove (Conway Street) *Newhaven (outstation) *Uckfield (outstation) *Durrington (outstation) *Eastbourne (outstation)


See also

*
List of bus operators of the United Kingdom :''This list is an alphabetically ordered index of current and past operators. For a structured list of current operators, see List of current bus operators of the United Kingdom'' This is a list of bus and coach operators of the United Kingdo ...
* Trolleybuses in Brighton *
Go-Ahead Group The Go-Ahead Group plc is a passenger transport company based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, with operations in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Singapore, Norway and Germany. Formerly listed on the London Stock Exchange, in 2022 it was purchased ...


References


External links


Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brighton and Hove (bus company) Transport in Brighton and Hove Bus operators in Brighton and Hove Transport in East Sussex Go-Ahead Group companies British companies established in 1884 Transport companies established in 1884 Bus operators in East Sussex Bus operators in West Sussex 1884 establishments in England