Derek Deedman

Brighton & Hove Bus Services are having problems with this Service, in that it now carries many schoolchildren and also becomes delayed in the Shoreham area due to heavy traffic on certain days. This has led to its next journey at 8.38am from Steyning to Shoreham, Brighton and Rottingdean running late, sometimes by 15 minutes or more.  This return journey passes through Shoreham at 9.00am so is the first journey that Countycard holders can use to travel free, which because it is now late has led to a number of complaints and the bus becoming further delayed.

As an experiment at the beginning of January the route was altered to operate from Bramber via the Steyning by-pass, Horsham Road to drop off at Steyning Grammar School and then head straight back into Brighton.  This did improve timekeeping, but Brighton & Hove then received a complaint that people who work in Steyning were now reaching the High Street that much later, and were late for work. Brighton & Hove have therefore stopped the experiment and the bus now runs its normal route.

However, Brighton & Hove consider the result of the experimental route had shown that it did successfully improve reliability and was beneficial to a far greater number of people than were inconvenienced.  The Bus Company will therefore be officially altering the route of this journey from the next timetable change on 7 April.

Whilst this proposed change is understood surely the better answer is to run the Service earlier so that no one is inconvenienced? Apart from this change there is also the need to see that the return times of the 2A throughout the day are changed, to enable a connection with the 100 service in Upper Beeding for travellers from Henfield and Small Dole who wish to go to/from Shoreham and Worthing.