NINETEEN bus routes will continue to be supported by the council after a £150,000 investment.

Brighton and Hove City Council agreed to protect all of the supported bus network for the next four years at a meeting of the policy, resources and growth committee.

Both Brighton and Hove Bus Company and The Big Lemon were awarded four year contracts to run numerous routes.

The Big Lemon, the city’s environmentally friendly bus company, currently operates the number 52 route.

However, it will take on five new routes: the number 16, 47, 56, 57 and 66. Brighton and Hove Bus Company will run the 72, 74, 75, 76, 76A, 91, 95, 95A, the Breeze Services , 77, 78, 79 and an extension of the 21 service to serve Goldstone Valley.

The protected routes include eight school routes and the new contracts will come in affect in September 17.

A existing contract for the 37, held by Compass Travel, runs until April 2018.

Lead councillor for transport, councillor Gill Mitchell, said: “I am pleased we have been able to protect all of these routes which are often a lifeline for local communities to connect people to the city. We are also providing a small number of improvements that residents asked for, such as better connections in the east of the city between Ovingdean, Rottingdean and Saltdean through the 47 route serving Ovingdean during the day.”

Norman Baker, managing director of The Big Lemon, said: “This is a great vote of confidence from the council and is the result of 10 years’ hard work by Tom Druitt and the team, the wonderful friendliness of our drivers, and the environmental and passenger-centred vision we put forward in our bid.

“The contract with the council is for four years, with an option for them to extend it for a further four years.

“The new services are due to begin on September 17 and there is now a huge amount to do to get ready.

“We need to recruit lots of drivers and train them. We need to get lots more buses, get them painted and equipped with everything from ticket machines to GPS equipment. We need to carve out lots more depot space. And the rest.”

For more details about the Brighton and Hove Bus Company routes visit buses.co.uk/servicelisting.shtml.

For The Big Lemon visit thebiglemon.com/buses and for Compass go to compass-travel.co.uk/compass-timetables/bus-timetables.