BUS companies have apologised to passengers after a series of cancellations due to staff shortages.

Both Brighton and Hove Buses and Stagecoach said they have been forced to cut services at short notice due to driver shortages but said such disruption is kept “to a minimum” for customers.

The transport firms said the issues are also being faced by transport industry operators across the country.

One passenger said that long delays and cancellations for her buses into Brighton city centre have been going “for months”.

She said: “I rang them and they apologised profusely. They said they ‘felt my pain’ and said the driver shortage is so bad that they have to take buses from frequent routes to cover things like school services when things are really bad.”

Ed Wills, managing director for Brighton and Hove Buses, said: “We are recruiting new drivers as quickly as we can but have had to cancel some journeys and we apologise for the inconvenience caused by this.

“We highly recommend that passengers check bus times before travelling using the departures feature on the Brighton and Hove Buses app, where you can track your bus in real-time and see where it is on the route before setting off on a journey.

“For customers that do not have access to online tools, they can call our customer services team on 01273 886200.”

A spokeswoman for Stagecoach said the company was “taking proactive steps” to bring the disruption to its services in Brighton and Worthing to an end.

She said: “Driver shortages are continuing to impact the bus and coach sector right across the UK and this is having an impact on our services in Worthing and Brighton.

“Unfortunately, sometimes this means cancelling services. This remains a last resort and is kept to a minimum.

“Customers can keep up to date with service information via our Twitter.

“We are also taking proactive steps to alleviate the situation by recruiting new drivers and are focused on getting new team members through our training programmes and on the road as soon as we can.”