East Sussex upcoming bus service changes.

[stadler]

There are a lot of changes to bus services in East Sussex from next month:

https://www.herstmonceuxparish.org.uk/uploads/202604-wealden-district-changes-to-bus-services.doc

Currently i can only find the Wealden document. They always produce five documents (Eastbourne / Hastings / Lewes / Rother / Wealden) whenever changes happen. I can not find any others besides the Wealden one. So there are probably other changes happening in other parts of East Sussex too.

But to summarise these are the changes that are confirmed so far:

• 21 - Cuckmere Buses - New service on Sunday only to replace the current Sunday workings of the Compass Bus route 121 service.

• 23 - Cuckmere Buses - New service on Sunday only to replace the current Sunday workings of the Compass Bus route 123 service.

• 25 - Cuckmere Buses - Service will be expanded to run on Tuesday and Thursday in addition to the current Saturday service. This is to replace the 125 which is being withdrawn. The route is the same.

• 25X - Cuckmere Buses - New service on Sunday only. Similar to the 25 but runs via the Southerham and Beddingham route instead of via the Ringmer and Glyndebourne and Glynde route.

• 54 - Brighton & Hove - Service withdrawn. Replaced by new B&H/MB route 500.

• 121 - Compass Bus - Sunday service withdrawn but replaced by Cuckmere Buses route 21 with the same route and similar timetable. Monday to Saturday service run by Compass Bus continues to operate as normal.

• 123 - Compass Bus - Sunday service withdrawn but replaced by Cuckmere Buses route 23 with the same route and similar timetable. Monday to Saturday service run by Compass Bus continues to operate as normal. Sunday journeys operated by CTLA also continue as normal.

• 125 - Compass Bus - Service withdrawn except for one school journey a day in each direction. Replaced by the 25 on Tuesday and Thursday and Saturday only. So many villages like Glynde and Firle will go from getting a bus six days a week to only getting a bus three days a week. A big downgrade.

• 245 - CTLA - New Service. This is a short distance Uckfield town route. It runs from Uckfield to Manor Park and replaces the current Manor Park section of the 54 which is the only part that the new 500 will not serve. But it will only run four times a day in each direction and Monday to Friday only unlike the current hourly 54 service. As a result Manor Park will get a huge frequency reduction.

• 246 - CTLA - Service withdrawn. This is a once a day in each direction rural route. The withdrawal means some villages like Fletching will be left without a bus service.

• 248 - CTLA - Service withdrawn. This is a once a day in each direction rural route. The withdrawal means some villages like Hadlow Down will be left without a bus service.

• 249 - CTLA - This service will be improved to run every weekday instead of just three days a week. This is an infrequent rural route. It will still be just three journeys a day in each direction but now on five days a week.

• 261 - Compass Bus - Service withdrawn. Replaced by new B&H/MB route 500.

• 354 - Autocar - Service withdrawn. I am not really surprised. I am shocked that it lasted this long. It is a very short distance peak hour only service aimed at rail commuters that completely duplicates the 1066 which operates at similar times. Not really a big loss. Nobody will be inconvinienced.

• 500 - Brighton & Hove / Metrobus - New route replacing the 54 and 261 services. Operates 24/7 from Eastbourne - Hailsham - Uckfield - Nutley - Forest Row - East Grinstead - Crawley - Gatwick Airport and vice versa. Will operate a 24/7 service. Hourly during the day and every two hours overnight on seven days a week. This is quite incredible that such rural villages (some of which currently only get five buses a day) are now getting a 24/7 bus service.

• 1066 - Stagecoach - The frequency is being reduced to approximately every 90 minutes. This is a huge reduction. This is the main route linking Hastings and Battle and Hawkhurst and Tunbridge Wells and is well used. It used to be every 30 minutes then got reduced to every 60 minutes and now is being further reduced to every 90 minutes. A big downgrade.

• LINK - Stagecoach - The frequency is being reduced from every fifteen minutes to every thirty minutes.

• N1 - Brighton & Hove - This night bus in Brighton is extended 24/7 hourly up to Woodingdean in the Eastern end. It currently only runs to the Western part of the city. So it is now basically becoming a combination of the daytime 1 and 6 and 22 routes.

• N29 - Brighton & Hove - New night bus service running 24/7 hourly between Brighton and Lewes on seven nights a week. I am very surprised that an average small town like Lewes is getting an hourly 24/7 night bus. It is quite a rural area surrounding the town. It also means the tiny rural village of St Ann Without (less than 100 people live there) will get a 24/7 bus service. Oddly it is numbered N29 instead of N28 which was mentioned in the ESCC document. The short workings in the daytime from Brighton to Lewes are numbered 28 so surely N28 would make more sense.

• N48 - Brighton & Hove - New night bus running 24/7 hourly between Brighton and both the Lower Bevendean and East Moulsecoomb areas. This is a combination of the daytime 48 and 49 routes. I am surprised they chose N48 instead of N49 as the daytime 49 is a much more frequent and major route compared to the 48 service.

These changes will all take place in either April next month or in May the month after. Overall it is quite bad news. One new route (500) which is good but everything else is either a withdrawal or a reduction in frequency.

 

[Man of Kent]

There are a lot of changes to bus services in East Sussex from next month:

https://www.herstmonceuxparish.org.uk/uploads/202604-wealden-district-changes-to-bus-services.doc

Currently i can only find the Wealden document. They always produce five documents (Eastbourne / Hastings / Lewes / Rother / Wealden) whenever changes happen. I can not find any others besides the Wealden one. So there are probably other changes happening in other parts of East Sussex too.

But to summarise these are the changes that are confirmed so far:

• 25 - Cuckmere Buses - Service will be expanded to run on Tuesday and Thursday in addition to the current Saturday service. This is to replace the 125 which is being withdrawn. The route is the same.

• 54 - Brighton & Hove - Service withdrawn. Replaced by new B&H/MB route 500.

• 125 - Compass Bus - Service withdrawn except for one school journey a day in each direction. Replaced by the 25 on Tuesday and Thursday and Saturday only. So many villages like Glynde and Firle will go from getting a bus six days a week to only getting a bus three days a week. A big downgrade.

• 245 - CTLA - New Service. This is a short distance Uckfield town route. It runs from Uckfield to Manor Park and replaces the current Manor Park section of the 54 which is the only part that the new 500 will not serve. But it will only run four times a day in each direction and Monday to Friday only unlike the current hourly 54 service. As a result Manor Park will get a huge frequency reduction.

• 246 - CTLA - Service withdrawn. This is a once a day in each direction rural route. The withdrawal means some villages like Fletching will be left without a bus service.

• 248 - CTLA - Service withdrawn. This is a once a day in each direction rural route. The withdrawal means some villages like Hadlow Down will be left without a bus service.

• 249 - CTLA - This service will be improved to run every weekday instead of just three days a week. This is an infrequent rural route. It will still be just three journeys a day in each direction but now on five days a week.

• 261 - Compass Bus - Service withdrawn. Replaced by new B&H/MB route 500.

• 354 - Autocar - Service withdrawn. I am not really surprised. I am shocked that it lasted this long. It is a very short distance peak hour only service aimed at rail commuters that completely duplicates the 1066 which operates at similar times. Not really a big loss. Nobody will be inconvinienced.

• 500 - Brighton & Hove / Metrobus - New route replacing the 54 and 261 services. Operates 24/7 from Eastbourne - Hailsham - Uckfield - Nutley - Forest Row - East Grinstead - Crawley - Gatwick Airport and vice versa. Will operate a 24/7 service. Hourly during the day and every two hours overnight on seven days a week. This is quite incredible that such rural villages (some of which currently only get five buses a day) are now getting a 24/7 bus service.

• 1066 - Stagecoach - The frequency is being reduced to approximately every 90 minutes. This is a huge reduction. This is the main route linking Hastings and Battle and Hawkhurst and Tunbridge Wells and is well used. It used to be every 30 minutes then got reduced to every 60 minutes and now is being further reduced to every 90 minutes. A big downgrade.

These changes will all take place in either April next month or in May the month after. Overall it is quite bad news. One new route (500) which is good but everything else is either a withdrawal or a reduction in frequency.

The 1066 has never been more frequent than hourly. There was a brief period of competition (by Renown?) between Hastings and Battle, but going back to its days as Maidstone & District 5 (and later 4 and 5) and 254, hourly has been the ruling timetable.

 

[duncombec]

There are a lot of changes to bus services in East Sussex from next month:

https://www.herstmonceuxparish.org.uk/uploads/202604-wealden-district-changes-to-bus-services.doc

Currently i can only find the Wealden document. They always produce five documents (Eastbourne / Hastings / Lewes / Rother / Wealden) whenever changes happen. I can not find any others besides the Wealden one. So there are probably other changes happening in other parts of East Sussex too.

The ESCC website has not yet been updated, but these changes were included in a "Lead Member decision" document in February (it can be found under the relevant section of the website).

• 125 - Compass Bus - Service withdrawn except for one school journey a day in each direction. Replaced by the 25 on Tuesday and Thursday and Saturday only. So many villages like Glynde and Firle will go from getting a bus six days a week to only getting a bus three days a week. A big downgrade.

The document states this is due to very low usage. It does rather parallel the railway between Lewes and Eastbourne (more frequent and faster), Ringmer has the B&H Regency group, and the section in Eastbourne is largely covered by Stagecoach services.

• 245 - CTLA - New Service. This is a short distance Uckfield town route. It runs from Uckfield to Manor Park and replaces the current Manor Park section of the 54 which is the only part that the new 500 will not serve. But it will only run four times a day in each direction and Monday to Friday only unlike the current hourly 54 service. As a result Manor Park will get a huge frequency reduction.

I believe the Manor Park section serves relatively new housing. I don't know if it was S106 funding or not, but I suggest this is probably a more accurate service level for the usage.

• 246 - CTLA - Service withdrawn. This is a once a day in each direction rural route. The withdrawal means some villages like Fletching will be left without a bus service.

• 248 - CTLA - Service withdrawn. This is a once a day in each direction rural route. The withdrawal means some villages like Hadlow Down will be left without a bus service.

Strictly speaking, they will be left without a timetabled bus service. Flexibus (DRT) is listed as the replacement. One wonders how much usage there is from villages with a population of 1000 or less. From a quick look, only Fletching and Hadlow Down will lose their services entirely, as the 249 will divert to Buxted (replacing 248), and the other areas all have a bus to at least somewhere, in the form of Metrobus 270 and Compass 121 (that Sheffield Park gets a more frequent service on Sundays than the rest of the week probably tells its own story).

• 354 - Autocar - Service withdrawn. I am not really surprised. I am shocked that it lasted this long. It is a very short distance peak hour only service aimed at rail commuters that completely duplicates the 1066 which operates at similar times. Not really a big loss. Nobody will be inconvinienced.

Nobody uses it! The bus cannot access the station after works by Network Rail (I understand it cannot leave the station and turn right towards Ticehurst without grounding, and there isn't enough space to turn in the week). I'm reliably informed that it should have been for the chop last time, but typically there was someone travelling the day they did the inspection! It has long been ESCC's most subsidised tendered service in terms of £/passenger journey.

These changes will all take place in either April next month or in May the month after. Overall it is quite bad news. One new route (500) which is good but everything else is either a withdrawal or a reduction in frequency.

As ESCC explain, largely resulting from the expiry of the first round of BSIP funding. The BSIP-funded ticketing options have also been withdrawn recently.

 

[James H]

• 125 - Compass Bus - Service withdrawn except for one school journey a day in each direction. Replaced by the 25 on Tuesday and Thursday and Saturday only. So many villages like Glynde and Firle will go from getting a bus six days a week to only getting a bus three days a week. A big downgrade.

Roger French's recent blog post on Cuckmere Buses (and the comments underneath) give a bit more info on changes in this area:
https://busandtrainuser.com/2026/03/17/the-art-of-running-a-community-bus-operation/
including this from the MD of Cuckmere:

I think I mentioned our extra days on 25 (Tuesdays and Thursdays) as ESCC funding for the Compass operated services has been withdrawn. Today, I will be registering additional new services 21 and 23 to run on Sundays only when services to Sheffield Park and Newhaven also lose their funding. We have taken a very deep breath and taken them on from 26th April. Route learning will start this week and the services will appear in our summer timetable booklet which goes to press late today, delayed to include them. We only realised they were being withdrawn through a casual conversation last week so it has been a very busy time.

 

[izvor]

One wonders how much usage there is from villages with a population of 1000 or less.

There were a few passengers on the Hadlow Down service when I used it last year. Since the saving from withdrawing it is given as £0 p.a. it seems a bit harsh.

 

[higthomas]

500 - Brighton & Hove / Metrobus - New route replacing the 54 and 261 services. Operates 24/7 from Eastbourne - Hailsham - Uckfield - Nutley - Forest Row - East Grinstead - Crawley - Gatwick Airport and vice versa. Will operate a 24/7 service. Hourly during the day and every two hours overnight on seven days a week. This is quite incredible that such rural villages (some of which currently only get five buses a day) are now getting a 24/7 bus service.

Surprised that this route is going to be 24/7 but there isn't an overnight service from Brighton to Gatwick given both places have extensive night bus networks and frequent trains during the day.

 

[stadler]

The full list of changes for all of East Sussex have now been published on the East Sussex County Council website this morning:

Changes to bus services

Bus service improvements in East Sussex.

www.eastsussex.gov.uk

Not that much else changing other than what was already mentioned. Big Lemon are taking over a few school bus routes in Rother and Wealden around the Battle and Rye areas. Stagecoach are reducing the evening services on a lot of their Eastbourne and Hastings local bus routes.

It does mention that B&H are improving their coastal routes (12 12A 12X 13X 14 14A 14B 14C N12 N14) from June 2026 in two months time. I am not sure exactly what this will be but i have heard that the night buses will have an increased frequency. Nothing about the summer only 11X returning so i wonder if that is withdrawn now.

 

[MrJeeves]

Surprised that this route is going to be 24/7 but there isn't an overnight service from Brighton to Gatwick given both places have extensive night bus networks and frequent trains during the day.

I would certainly appreciate an overnight 270/271/272 route! I gather West Sussex cares much less about bus services than East Sussex does.

 

[stadler]

I would certainly appreciate an overnight 270/271/272 route! I gather West Sussex cares much less about bus services than East Sussex does.

I think an hourly (or even two hourly) 24/7 night bus running Brighton - Patcham - Pyecombe - Hassocks - Burgess Hill - Wivelsfield - Haywards Heath - Cuckfield - Balcombe - Crawley - Gatwick Airport would be perfect. This is a missed opportunity. It is a popular travel corridor and Mid Sussex has plenty of airport workers.

I supposed WSCC is less interested in funding buses. But they did fund the 24/7 route N700 (Brighton to Worthing) and the 24/7 route 700 (Bognor Regis to Chichester) so it can be done. Plus you would think that Gatwick Airport would be happy to at least partially fund a Brighton to Gatwick Airport via Mid Sussex night bus.

Mid Sussex has done rather poorly for night buses compared to what East Sussex gets.

The only three Mid Sussex night buses have all been withdrawn in recent years:

There used to be the once a day in one direction only Brighton & Hove N40/N69 service on Saturday and Sunday only. It ran Brighton - Pyecombe - Hassocks - Burgess Hill - Haywards Heath similar to the daytime 270/271/272 service. It lasted for eighteen years from April 1998 to April 2016.

There used to be the once a day in one direction only Metrobus N73 service on Saturday and Sunday only. It ran Brighton - Pyecombe - Hassocks - Hurstpierpoint - Hickstead - Bolney - Crawley similar to the daytime 273 service. It lasted for two years from May 2011 to May 2013.

There used to be the twice a day in each direction Sussex Coaches N8 service on Saturday and Sunday only. It ran Brighton - Pyecombe - Poynings - Henfield - Partridge Green - Cowfold - Southwater - Horsham similar to the daytime 17 service. It lasted for just over four years from December 2015 to March 2020.

Maybe once the local government reorganisation changes are completed (i think Sussex is getting some combined aurhority to oversee transport and Mid Sussex is likely to move back in to an East Sussex unitary council) then they will look in to more night buses.

 

[Park47515]

I think an hourly (or even two hourly) 24/7 night bus running Brighton - Patcham - Pyecombe - Hassocks - Burgess Hill - Wivelsfield - Haywards Heath - Cuckfield - Balcombe - Crawley - Gatwick Airport would be perfect. This is a missed opportunity. It is a popular travel corridor and Mid Sussex has plenty of airport workers.

I supposed WSCC is less interested in funding buses. But they did fund the 24/7 route N700 (Brighton to Worthing) and the 24/7 route 700 (Bognor Regis to Chichester) so it can be done. Plus you would think that Gatwick Airport would be happy to at least partially fund a Brighton to Gatwick Airport via Mid Sussex night bus.

Mid Sussex has done rather poorly for night buses compared to what East Sussex gets.

The only three Mid Sussex night buses have all been withdrawn in recent years:

There used to be the once a day in one direction only Brighton & Hove N40/N69 service on Saturday and Sunday only. It ran Brighton - Pyecombe - Hassocks - Burgess Hill - Haywards Heath similar to the daytime 270/271/272 service. It lasted for eighteen years from April 1998 to April 2016.

There used to be the once a day in one direction only Metrobus N73 service on Saturday and Sunday only. It ran Brighton - Pyecombe - Hassocks - Hurstpierpoint - Hickstead - Bolney - Crawley similar to the daytime 273 service. It lasted for two years from May 2011 to May 2013.

There used to be the twice a day in each direction Sussex Coaches N8 service on Saturday and Sunday only. It ran Brighton - Pyecombe - Poynings - Henfield - Partridge Green - Cowfold - Southwater - Horsham similar to the daytime 17 service. It lasted for just over four years from December 2015 to March 2020.

Maybe once the local government reorganisation changes are completed (i think Sussex is getting some combined aurhority to oversee transport and Mid Sussex is likely to move back in to an East Sussex unitary council) then they will look in to more night buses.

Before we talk about Night 270-272, adding one or two extra trips across the day would make a huge improvement. The last Brighton bound 270 is oddly early, and extending the part route 272s for instance.

An extra hourly Haywards Heath - Brighton as well would make it essentially every 20 min which would be a game changer

 

[stadler]

Before we talk about Night 270-272, adding one or two extra trips across the day would make a huge improvement. The last Brighton bound 270 is oddly early, and extending the part route 272s for instance.

An extra hourly Haywards Heath - Brighton as well would make it essentially every 20 min which would be a game changer

I agree the frequency could do with an increase. I have always thought that the 270/271/272/273 should all be made hourly (the 270/273 are already hourly so its just the 271/272 that need an increase from every two hours each to hourly each) which would give a combined four buses per hour frequency on the Brighton to Hassocks section and a combined three buses per hour frequency on the Brighton to Burgess Hill to Wivelsfield to Haywards Heath section. All four routes always seem very busy when i use them. I think such a frequency is definitely profitable.

Mid Sussex has seen a big decrease in frequency in recent years. Back in the early 2010s and mid 2010s there was even a period of six buses per hour along the Brighton - Hassocks - Burgess Hill - Wivelsfield - Haywards Heath corridor. Countryliner then Sussex Bus always had the 33/40/40X which each ran hourly along the full length and at one point the 40 even went up to twice an hour. Then you had Metrobus with their own 270/271/272/273 routes. There was also a short period when Metrobus competed with their own 40X route. I am just going through all my old timetable books now and it is bonkers how such a busy corridor went from six buses an hour to just two buses an hour now. It needs an increase again.

Another thing that i would do is divert the 273 to run via Staplefield on the Warninglid to Handcross section. Then i would divert the 271 to run via Balcombe instead. This would give Mid Sussex a slightly faster journey to Crawley plus allow Balcombe to get a much improved bus frequency plus allow for the Compass Bus route 62 to be withdrawn. It would only add a couple minutes to the 273 journey time.

 

[JGurney]

It does rather parallel the railway between Lewes and Eastbourne (more frequent and faster),

However while Firle and Selmersden, plus the English Farm Cider Centre (my own reason for using the 125) and Charleston Farmhouse, are near the railway line they are not particularly near any stations. From Firle village to Glynde station is a 1.5 mile walk requiring crossing the A26, and from the English Farm Cider Centre, which has a stop on the 125, it is a 2 mile walk (a rather unpleasant one along the A26) to Glynde.

 

[Park47515]

I agree the frequency could do with an increase. I have always thought that the 270/271/272/273 should all be made hourly (the 270/273 are already hourly so its just the 271/272 that need an increase from every two hours each to hourly each) which would give a combined four buses per hour frequency on the Brighton to Hassocks section and a combined three buses per hour frequency on the Brighton to Burgess Hill to Wivelsfield to Haywards Heath section. All four routes always seem very busy when i use them. I think such a frequency is definitely profitable.

Mid Sussex has seen a big decrease in frequency in recent years. Back in the early 2010s and mid 2010s there was even a period of six buses per hour along the Brighton - Hassocks - Burgess Hill - Wivelsfield - Haywards Heath corridor. Countryliner then Sussex Bus always had the 33/40/40X which each ran hourly along the full length and at one point the 40 even went up to twice an hour. Then you had Metrobus with their own 270/271/272/273 routes. There was also a short period when Metrobus competed with their own 40X route. I am just going through all my old timetable books now and it is bonkers how such a busy corridor went from six buses an hour to just two buses an hour now. It needs an increase again.

Another thing that i would do is divert the 273 to run via Staplefield on the Warninglid to Handcross section. Then i would divert the 271 to run via Balcombe instead. This would give Mid Sussex a slightly faster journey to Crawley plus allow Balcombe to get a much improved bus frequency plus allow for the Compass Bus route 62 to be withdrawn. It would only add a couple minutes to the 273 journey time.

The reduction from when Sussex Bus went bust, is quite something.
I do wonder though, considering the buses on the 271-273 are at least 13/14 years old and the new ones on order seem to have been cancelled, how much money they do make.
271 diverting via Balcombe and Maidenbower would be interesting, but how much demand is there from Balcombe if it gets a half hourly train service to three bridges and beyond.