Summer 'Breeze' hots up
The number 77 bus to Devil’s Dyke is moving up a gear! From Sunday 14 June open top buses will be working most journeys and the 77 will run up to every 30 minutes seven days a week. With buses returning from Devil’s Dyke right up until 8.30pm, you can even pop up for a summer evening stroll.
Two open-top double-deckers and a standard double-decker will be on the Devil’s Dyke route, running every 30 minutes during the daytime. Each of the buses is low-floor and accessible to people travelling in wheelchairs or with buggies.
Up to two children per adult go free on the 77 bus. An adult ‘Breeze’ return ticket to Devil’s Dyke is just £4.50, or you can get the Saver or new Discovery ticket for unlimited bus travel. Senior citizens’ bus passes are accepted too.
Saver tickets cost £4.70 (£9 Family) and offer one day’s unlimited travel on all Brighton & Hove Buses’ services in and around the city, including the 78 Breeze bus to the heart of Stanmer Park and the weekend 79 Breeze bus to Ditchling Beacon. Saver tickets are also accepted on all Breeze services if you already have one.
Councillor Gill Mitchell, lead member for environment and transport, said: “The ‘Breeze’ bus services are a very popular way of getting out into the surrounding countryside from the city centre. Now that the weather is improving it’s sure to prove popular once again this summer.
“The services also help reduce traffic congestion at popular local attractions like Stanmer Park and open up hard-to-reach areas of the Downs for the many city residents who don’t have access to a car. This year for the first time the 78 bus into Stanmer Park is running seven days a week.”
'Discovery' tickets also offer unlimited travel on all companies’ local bus services across Sussex. One day versions of the ‘Discovery’ can be bought for £8.50. Two people can save with a Discovery Family Ticket for £16: includes up to 3 children too!
Plus there’s a podcast available for download showing all the things you can only see from the top of the 77 bus. If technology’s not your thing, there’s a printed route guide you can pick up on board.
Leaflets with information on each of the three ‘Breeze’ bus routes (77, 78, 79) are available from www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/breezebuses or at libraries, council offices and bus offices, or by calling the council on 01273 292480. The leaflets give full timetables, the podcast link, details of special offers for bus passengers for refreshments, and suggestions for walks and things to do.
Keen walkers can take the weekend 79 bus to Ditchling Beacon and enjoy a seven mile walk along the South Downs Way to Devil’s Dyke. The 79 will not run on Sunday 21 June because of road closures for the Bike Ride.
The ‘Breeze up to the Downs’ project is supported by Brighton & Hove City Council, The National Trust and the South Downs National Park Authority.