Cheaper bus fares due in East Sussex this summer

The council wants to get passenger numbers back to pre-pandemic levels

Bus fares are set to get cheaper in East Sussex this summer due to extra funding from an underspend.

Claire Dowling, East Sussex County Council's lead member for transport and environment, approved plans to redirect an unused £515,000 from the authority's mobility hubs programme to cut fares.

The subsidised fares come as part of the council's wider bus service improvement plan.

It aims to increase passenger numbers back to pre-pandemic levels.

The council is expected to receive £41.4m of government funding for the programme this autumn, but this early funding is hoped to give passenger numbers a kickstart.

Ms Dowling said the council had to "go further" than just increasing passenger numbers to pre-Covid levels, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

She added: "We've got to encourage more usage of our buses.

"When we get to 2025, bus operators will be in a much stronger financial position to keep operating, to keep going.

"Let's get this started now, it shows the operators that we are 100 per cent behind them."

Almost half of the government funding will be spent on physical highways and traffic light projects in Eastbourne, Polegate, Hailsham, Newhaven, Seaford and Peacehaven.

Other schemes such as real time information signs, bus stop improvements and the creation of mobility hubs will get £2m.

The remaining funding is expected to go towards further improvements and fare reduction schemes.

However it is only half the amount the council applied for.

The Green Party's Georgia Taylor, said it was "wonderful", but added: "I keep saying to people 'there's this great new bus strategy happening', but in this area — except for the reductions in price — I don't think anyone is going to see any benefit."

Follow BBC South East on Facebook, on Twitter, and on Instagram. Send your story ideas to [e-mail].