More than 100 frustrated passengers told a bus company boss that Bevendean has the “worst bus service ever experienced” last night.
Brighton and Hove Buses chief executive Ed Wills was given a grilling by residents about the poor performance of the 48 bus – the only one to serve the area.
The route from Churchill Square to Lower Bevendean is timetabled for three buses an hour during peak times on the Brighton and Hove Buses website, but driver shortages often cause cancellations.
The meeting had to be moved from the church hall to the Holy Nativity Church on Norwich Drive after more residents than expected turned up.
While no firm plans were agreed to, a commitment to look into why such a disparity exists between the number of 49s and 48s was taken away by the Brighton and Hove Buses chief executive.
One resident summed up residents’ concerns, saying: “There is only one road in and out of Bevendean. We have no doctors, no pub, no supermarket; we need to go out of Bevendean for everything.
“This is why we need to rely on our bus service.”
Mr Wills told residents: “I want to give you a better service that you can rely on.
“We are still coming out of a hard few years. We are still suffering from a shortage of drivers.
“We need to make sure the 48 is not more or less affected than any other service.
“On the suggestion of a loop, we have talked about it.
“In the immediate term we can look at the 49s and 5s running together, we will look at splitting up frequent services.”
Mr Wills was met with jeers of objection after saying: “I’ve worked in some parts of the UK where there’s one bus every hour.”
There were roars of agreement when a resident said: “I’d be happy with one every 20 minutes if it actually turned up.”
Jodie Hillman, Bevendean resident said: “People who need 49s can take the 49, the 29, or the 24. When you cancel a 48, people are left waiting a long time, there’s no other service we can take.”
Another resident who has lived in Bevendean for almost two years said: “If I didn’t have a car I would not be able to plan my life because it’s the worst bus service I have ever experienced.
An elderly resident said: “In the last month I have had to walk home four times, I am 74.”
One resident said that he was surprised the bus company bosses did not have solutions ready to provide to the crowd already, having had more than two weeks’ notice of this public meeting.
The meeting was organised by Moulsecoomb and Bevendean Councillor Jacob Taylor. He said: “Residents know it’s not good enough, councillors know it’s not good enough, and it’s now clear that the bus company themselves know it’s not good enough.
“What we now need is a plan to improve it, and real action from the bus company.”
Another ward councillor, Ty Goddard said: “Residents understood some of the operational challenges but Bevendean deserves better and it seems this service has been overlooked for a long time.
“It says a lot when we had to change venues because the public meeting was so busy.”
Other topics discussed were the possibility of having published time tables at every stop in Bevendean, as well as ensuring the first and last 48 buses of the day turn up on time.
One resident who sends her children to school at BACA said: “If the last bus is cancelled it’s not safe. That last bus is the only way some people can get home.
“When the early bus is cancelled children are abandoned with no information. Those children deserve to get to school ready to learn, and instead they get marked absent in the register.”
I lived in lower Bevendean during my childhood in the 60s the bus service then was always on time, except for the snow….what I can’t understand is the flippant remark regarding places with one bus per hour!! Lower Bevendean is hardly a remote village! ..in fact you can get a bus to Eastbourne, Hailsham or Heathfield more frequently than to Bevendean…come on Brighton and Hove buses, get a grip…
I live on Shoreham Beach and we only have one bus an hour and we cannot be considered a remote village. Residents here would love three buses an hour!
Thanks for covering this meeting.
Unfortunately, it’s not just Bevendean with the problem. I’m sure that anyone stood at a bus stop and relying on the ‘live’ displays has often been disappointed as ‘3 minutes’ turns into 10 minutes or more.
I’m lucky enough to live on the number 1 bus route and whilst that service from Hove is pretty good in the daytime, in the evening it has got steadily worse with frequent delays or cancellations.
Night time services that were cut during Covid have also not been restored, and after midnight there’s often just one bus per hour or none at all. How are pub goers or those working in hospitality expected to get home?
Obviously, our city centre pubs are open until midnight or later but if you try to get a bus at that time you frequently find the bus displays at the stops have just gone blank, offering no information at all.
On the many occasions I have found myself having to walk home along Western road, Church road and then New Church road, I’ve found many others having to do the same thing. So clearly the bus company is not catering to obvious demand here. In my case, that walk takes an hour, and perhaps it’s not safe to do nowadays.
We also have the Stagecoach-run 700 service running along our seafront here in Hove, but that too frequently cancels services and with little or no warning.
And if you use the Stagecoach night bus services because you find there’s no Brighton and Hove bus, then you have to buy a new ticket with a surcharge of £5quid – in addition to the Brighton bus ticket you had already paid for, based on their advertised timetable.
These buses are meant to be an affordable means of public transport, but they are not cheap and are not currently reliable.
Chop the route in half and have a central over lap
Brighton and Hove is highly profitable for the dominant bus company, Mr Wills knows full well. Otherwise their yearly profit wouldn’t amount to £11 million.
Truly gripping stuff. Can’t wait for Season 2.
Didn’t turn out too well for you, if I remember.
Hollingdean has a similar problem cancelled services without notice yet the live board states that there’s a service due we had two no’s running on this route till a few year ago the 50 and 50b what served the university via the bus garage and falmer they removed that never to consider replacing it I can go to the stop in anticipation of a bus arrival and not see one for 45 minutes with two buses gone off services or just vanish and still appear on the live timetable on the app
The 23 service from the marina to the university is unreliable I’ve been standing at the bus stop for over an hour sometimes because the board said it was 5 minutes then it went up to 35 mins
I have lived in lower Bevendean for over 40 years and am constantly having to walk up and down the Avenue due to the poor service of the 48 bus we are both over 40 and its no joke when you have shopping
I use this 48 &49bus daily to and from work this is the only route I can take to get to work and home but this has been going on for months it’s either not in service or you have to wait over an hour for a bus to arrive it’s so frustrating when I have to walk to work and home there must be a solution to this never ending nightmare
When Brighton Corporation (Blue Buses) ran the service, they ran every 15 minutes into town then to Westdean (10) or Hangleton (11). When B&H took them over, they messed them around, re-routed them and reduced the timetable and renumbered them 49A at one point.
B&H really are a poor company compared to a few years ago when you could almost set your watch by them.
If there is an issue with driver shortages, run the bus service down to Sainsbury’s gyratory and turn around there, could even be cleaver and get it to arrive just before the 28/29 fast busses. Same the opposite way have it leave just after those quick busses arrive. Never understood why we have so many busses all covering the same route. While your at it, make the 28/29 run fast from Churchill square to Palmeria sq, Hove town hall then turn around at George Street. Am sick to death of spending close to an hour on a 49 to get from Brighton to Hove (4miles per hour it works out at)
That’s a great idea
The 50 service in Hollingdean is terrible. I complained years ago & it’s no different now? Buses not turning up, buses being cancelled as no drivers & they certainly aren’t reliable using the live times when a 3 minute wait turns into a 15 minute wait? The buses are dirty, old & I can’t believe how some make it round the loop!! Obviously passengers (& there children) are to blame for the mess which I find very frustrating as I wouldn’t dare drop my rubbish on the floor or leave a coffee cup or bottle rolling around for someone to kick with the leftover contents going everywhere!! Unfortunately I rely on public transport but some buses in B&H are very poor!!
Although Bevendean seems to have a terrible bus service, it isn’t just there that has a problem. I live in Patcham and in recent months I have had to wait for a bus for forty minutes on several occasions. I live on the part of the route, which gives me the choice of the 5 and the 5A and we should have three buses an hour. This hasn’t been the case recently. When going in to the city centre we have had to rely on the buses that come in from outside of Brighton. I can use these buses, because I have an older persons bus pass, but other people cannot use them. The frustrating thing is that I have regularly seen three 5B buses go past while waiting for a Patcham bus. I feel sorry for people trying to get home from work in the early evening, as that seems to be the time when the Patcham buses are few and far between. I also wonder if the bus company thinks that Patcham residents don’t want to go in to Brighton in the evening, as it seems that they expect us to use our cars instead if we want to get to the theatre on time. Added to all this, I am wondering why we see so many buses going past that are “not in service”. I’ve stood at the bus stop outside the Ladies Mile Pub at 7.30pm and seen at least two buses go by that are not in service, while the next bus is due in 50 minutes time. Both the 5 and 5A serve that bus stop. It seems that they are favouring certain routes with frequent services, such as the 7 route. It you live at either end of a route you don’t seem to get the full service. It seems that some buses are turned around before getting to the end of the route. It’s unacceptable in a city like Brighton.
I also live in Patcham where I theoretically have the choice of the 5 or 5A but, like Marilyn, end up either waiting for ages or walking to The Black Lion and getting an out-of-town bus. Don’t even think about travelling if there’s a hint of snow, the entire Ladies Mile Rd/Mackie Avenue loop gets cancelled and sometimes the buses turn round at Preston Circus rather than venturing further north.
The whole bus service is going downhill, but bevendean and holoingdean are particularly terrible. Even in the early 2000s bevendean was terrible.
I live in Higher Bevendean on the 49 Route and i often have to walk down to Lewes Road as the 49 is not running in the morning. Then when i finish wirk it is nit unusual to get to yhe bus stop and its either not on thd noard or 20+ minute wait. Yesterday there was 2 48s and no 49s when i was wIing to getbjome st 5 oclock
Many bus services have had problems. This has been made much worse by the 5-7 minute diversion via seven dials, which has swallowed much of the catch time,making services more unreliable. Thankfully these have finished, but there is still the driver shortage is causing problems.
On n1 display issue , I have raised this. Apparently, because the bus comes off another service, it is not displayed until the last minute.
‘Remote’ is a bizarre choice of words for a neighbourhood that is not even the furthest one from the town centre! It’s not the outer hebrides!
Nevertheless there’s one way in by road to the area despite it’s large size and population and only one bus route serving the area very badly. Yesterday, in the early afternoon there was an hour’s wait for the 48, they were so sparse.
The no 9 Arundel to Holmbush is Stage Coach run nearly always on time one every hour, the no 700 Littlrhampton to Brighton is also run by Stage Coach runs every 15 mins but run 2 together.
We in Rustington are well served sorry for people in
Brighton
AFTER DUE CONSIDERATION OF THE FACTS I TOO CAN CONFIRM THAT THE NUMBER 50 SERVICE IS THE PITS AND IS THE WORST BUS SERVICE IN THE NORTHERN HEMISPHERE I HAVE SPOKEN
Never change Barry. You are a constant source of amusement with your capital sensibilities.
I think the buses running to Whitehawk are the most frequent ! I wonder why !? lol
I go up the town to do a bit of shopping, every bus i look up at is a bus to Whitehawk – 6 buses pass by the time a 48 turns up !!
Simply/….The management are NOT FIT FOR SERVICE !
ONCE AGAIN , THE 50 DUE AT 2233 WAS NOT RUNNING FROM LONDON ROAD SHOPS NOW HAVE TO GO BACK IN MACDONALDS TO LISTEN TO THEIR AWFUL MUSIC FOR HALF AN HOUR I WONDER IF THE 2303 WILL BOTHER TO TURN UP ? THE LEADER OF TO HE BUSES TOLD THE HOLLUNGDEAN RE SD IDENTS MEETING MONTHS AGO THIS SERVICE WOULD IMPROVE PIGS MIGHT WAITED OVER ONE HOUR FOR A 22 TO WOODINGDEAN FROM THAT STOP WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON KEPT GETTING TOLD ONE WAS COMING SO IS CHRISTMAS THEY TOOK 3 OF THE 22S OFF , BUT DIDN’T TAKE A DRIVER OFF ANOTHER ROUTE