Accessible City Buses

Brighton & Hove City Council provides an integrated package of accessible bus stops, real time information, bus priority measures, bus lane enforcement and low floor bus acquisition. This package, provided through a Quality Bus Partnership, has improved the accessibility of services for everybody, improved bus service reliability, reduced boarding and alighting times and resulted in a 50% growth in bus patronage over the last ten years.

Since January 1998, the Council has installed over 150 accessible bus stops and another 30 are planned for 2005-06. This involves raising the kerb and installing Kassel kerbs; building out a boarder to protect the stop from parked vehicles and make it easy for a driver to position a bus close to the kerb; and at some stops installing kerbside lighting to guide drivers at night. 

The stops are being provided with shelters and seats, and real time information (which is also available on the web). The average age of the bus fleet is only five years and over 60% are either low floor, kneeling or fully accessible.

Officers from the Public Transport Team are members of the Brighton & Hove City Council's Disabled Access Advisory Group and attend the Council's Older Peoples Council and 60+ Action Group.

The Award recognises the achievement of Brighton and Hove City Council and Brighton & Hove Bus Company in providing an integrated package of infrastructure improvements, traffic management, accessible vehicles and good information, to achieve a bus service in a major city that is inclusive and a model for all operators.

Overall, this is considered to be an exemplary package of measures that together improve the city bus services for everybody and enable people with disabilities to use the services inclusively. This good practice should be disseminated widely and copied by other local authorities and operators.