BUS bosses are faced with cutting four services and altering two others due to cuts.

Brighton and Hove Bus Company has said the number 84, 21, 21A and the 38A could all go in the autumn if the proposed 5.9% council tax hike is not voted through by Brighton and Hove City Council. 

The number 37 and 38 services could also be altered as soon as April with government funding set to run out. The 37 service runs from Brighton Station to the Bristol Estate while the 38 runs between Mead owview and Brighton Station.

The 21 and 21A, from Brighton Marina, through Whitehawk to Goldstone Valley, the 38A, from Meadowview to Brighton Station, and the 84, between Whitehawk, Woodingdean and the universities, could all be axed in the autumn. A company spokesman said withdrawal of funding from East Sussex County Council has also had an impact.

Jacqueline Haines commutes on the number 84 to the University of Sussex campus from Rottingdean four times a week. She said: “If the 84 goes it will add another 45 minutes each way on to my journey and I will have to go into town and along the seafront to get back home.”

Company managing director Martin Harris said he was working with the council to try to find solutions. He said: “A very small proportion of bus journeys in the city are oper- ated on contract to the council. “But those that are at risk are clearly important to the people who use them.

“We are working with council officers to ensure a suitable alternative service will be provided, even if that means some or all of the service being provided by other operators.”

Ian Davey, the council’s lead member for transport, added: “We’re doing everything possible to keep reductions in support to bus routes to an absolute minimum.”

The bus company also announced alterations to other routes designed to improve services and avoid delays. Some were suggested by organisations, bus drivers and passengers. More regular buses will appear on some routes, some routes will be extended, and the frequency of some services will be reduced. See more details below.

To comment on the proposed changes email info@buses.co.uk or write to Brighton and Hove Buses, 43 Conway Street, Hove, BN3 3LT, by the end of May.

Bus changes in more detail:

1, 1A, N1         More early evening services on Monday to Saturday and improvements to the late evening service from Mile Oak to Whitehawk on all days.

2, 2B    Improved early morning service between Rottingdean and Woodingdean. 

5, 5A, 5B, N5  Improved rush hour service from Patcham on weekdays. Improved late evening service to Hangleton.

6          More early morning journeys to Brighton Station on Monday to Saturdays to connect with London-bound trains.

7          Bus services every six to seven minutes on Monday to Saturday. Revised timings from Portslade on Monday to Friday.

12, 12A, 12X   One more morning rush hour journey from Newhaven to Brighton on weekdays. Improved evening service from Brighton on Monday to Saturday and more buses between 8pm and 8.30pm, with an extra journey at 10.33pm. Service 12A journeys will be extended beyond the Arndale Centre at Eastbourne to the Winter Garden.

13X      Buses will run every half hour on Sundays and Bank Holidays between June 14, and August 31.

14, 14C           Time adjustments during rush hours. One morning journey will be extended to Brighton Hove and Sussex Sixth Form College on school days.

18        Time adjustments every day to meet with train connections.

21, 21A            More buses between Queens Park and Hove and between Furze Hill and Hove before 10am, as well as more services for Furze Hill, Swanborough Drive and the Marina in the afternoon. There is an extra journey between London Road and Manor Hill at 3.23pm on schooldays.

22        Early weekday mornings and evening time changes. Evening journeys on Monday to Saturday extended to Brighton Station.

25, N25           More night buses every ten minutes from Old Steine, at 4.31am and 4.41am. Some night buses will continue to run one week after the end of the summer term.

27, 27C           Time changes in early mornings on weekdays to meeting train and bus connections. More buses from Westdene to Saltdean in early weekday evenings, and a later last journey to Saltdean on Monday to Saturday to connect with the 11.06pm train from London Victoria to Brighton Station.

28, 29  Less buses between Lewes and Tunbridge Wells on Monday to Saturday evenings. More buses every half hour between Lewes and Brighton during that time. More services in Ringmer with Brighton to Uckfield journeys diverting through the village.

37        Early morning journeys from Swanborough Drive will become the service 1B.Timings changes could be introduced on the Bristol Estate with the Compass 37B route, but a continued half hour service.

38, 38A            Route changes have not been finalised.

46        Timing changes from Southwick to Hollingbury on Monday to Saturday. The 3.05pm departure from Hollingbury will depart at 3.02pm on schooldays and operate three minutes earlier as far as Varndean School.

48        The route in the direction from Brighton Station and Churchill Square will visit Upper Gloucester Road, Buckingham Road and Dyke Road, instead of Queens Road.

49        One journey is diverted to Brighton Station for train commuters. Less bus services in the early evening on Monday to Saturday. A later last journey from Portslade to East Moulsecoomb on Monday to Saturday.

50, 50U           More buses between Hollingdean and Churchill Square increased every 12 minutes on Monday to Friday until early afternoon. Time changes to weekday services to meet train connections. Falmer journeys are extended to serve Brighton University campus.

55        The first journey from Mile Oak will run five minutes earlier and stops at Varndean College instead of Hollingbury Asda.

60        The morning school journey to Steyning Grammar School will start from Shoreham High Street via Eastern Avenue.

74        Extended to Egremont Place via Queens Park.

77        It will operate seven days a week from April until September when it has only operated at weekends until mid-June previously. From mid-June and August the service will run every half hour.

78        For the first time this route will operate seven days a week. 

Siblings to get discounted bus travel

FAMILIES could save money up to £90 a year on travel bills with a new discount, according to Brighton and Hove Bus Company. 
From Monday parents travelling with more than one child could make savings with the sibling discount.
The savings will come into force when more than one 90-day or 12-month “busID Saver” is bought on the Key smart card for family members under 18. 
It could save families money for school and college travel as well as for trips with friends and relatives. When the first ticket is bought, the additional ticket holder will receive £90 off a 12 month saver, and £10 off the cost of a 90 day saver. 
The ticket only applies to young people living at the same address as the person holding the full priced busID Saver and a medical card is needed for proof of address. 
Tickets cannot yet be bought online but are available at 1 Stop Travel, on North Street, or 43 Conway Street. 
Bus company director Mike Best said “We recognise the pressures on family budgets and this new discount follows our decision to improve student discounts and our introduction of Family Day Savers.”