Bus services paid for by the council

What services we pay for and how our buses were supported during COVID-19.

The council provides financial support for the following bus services:

These services provide buses to parts of the city that would otherwise not have a direct bus service.

We also fund some school services (routes 72, 74, 75, 76, 76A, 91, 95 and 95A).

How we supported bus operators during the COVID-19 pandemic

The number of bus passengers reduced significantly during the pandemic. These remain lower than they were before the pandemic. To ensure bus services continued to run, operators received additional funding provided by the government.

Between April 2020 and September 2021, COVID Bus Service Support Grant (CBSSG) funding was provided directly to operators of commercial bus services by the Department for Transport.

CBBSG funding for council-supported bus services was administered by the council. In total, the council received £992,195.

This was allocated to the following services:

  • 16, 47, 52 and 57 operated by The Big Lemon
  • 37 and 37B operated by Compass Buses
  • 77, 78 and 79 operated by Brighton & Hove Buses

The total mileage supported was approximately 480,000 km.

CBBSG was replaced by the Bus Recovery Fund between September 2021 and March 2022. The council received £254,108. This continued to be used to support the above services during this period..

Between September 2020 and July 2021, the Department for Education also provided additional funding for school buses. This was to allow more dedicated school transport services so that social distancing could be maintained on public bus services. In total, we received £1,082,600 from this fund.