BUS passengers will face a hike in fares for the second time in less than a year.

Tickets will rise by 10p for single fares and 20p more for returns in zones run by Brighton and Hove Bus and Coach Company.

The company, which runs most services in and around the city, blames increased costs of diesel for the increase.

Fares will go up by seven per cent from Sunday, December 4.

The bus firm announced earlier in the year it would be forced to put up ticket prices because of escalating fuel costs.

Flooding caused by the recent hurricane has severely damaged American oil refineries.

It costs the same to buy a pre-paid Megabus ticket to London, including a 50p booking fee, as it does to take a single journey in Brighton.

The latest price rise follows another seven per cent increase on January 9.

The cost of a barrel of Brent Crude oil has more than doubled from about £11 in 2001 to about £37 today.

Roger French, managing director of Brighton and Hove Bus and Coach Company, said fuel costs had risen by more than 70 per cent during the last two years.

He said: "Every penny increase on a litre of fuel costs us an extra £75,000 per year. At the start of the year we were paying 33p per litre and now we're paying 44p per litre.

"Prices rose by another 41p per litre in 2004 so over the two years our fuel costs have risen by 74 per cent."

He said fuel accounted for a tenth of the company's overheads.

He said he had been increasing efficiency in other areas to shore up profit margins.

The number of passengers has risen by five per cent again this year, for the twelfth year in a row.

Mr French said if people bought the all-day Saver ticket in advance from newsagents or post offices they could buy it for £2.50, the same price as in 1990.

Stephen Morris, of the national campaigning group Bus Users UK, said fares had gone up across the country.

He said: "The bus operator First Group has put up fares four times in a year in some places.

"The £1.50 flat fare is good value if you are travelling from somewhere like Shoreham to Brighton but for a short journey in the city it seems a little steep."

Michael Fisher of Kings Road, Brighton, uses the buses occasionally and was worried £1.50 could be too much for some people to pay, which could lead to more traffic on the roads.

He said: "The extra cost might make them go by car instead. It is hardly the sort of thing that encourages people to go by bus."