Use it or Lose it - Buses Under Threat!

Here’s the good news: Campaigning by Greening Steyning, Bramber and Beeding has won a reprieve on the cuts that were planned for October. The bad news? These will still go ahead in April 2012, unless the buses have enough passengers, which means you!

Cuts, cuts, cuts:
West Sussex County Council are reviewing our bus company subsidies. The removal of a subsidy does not necessarily mean the end of a service, but unless a route is commercially viable the bus company won’t be able to run it any more. Brighton and Hove have decided to continue their services for now, but Compass may have to stop running the 100 and 106 services if the Council goes ahead with their plans to withdraw subsidies in April 2012.

Steyning needs buses:
You might never use the bus, but your friends and neighbours probably do – for work, for shopping or to get to school. If Steyning loses its buses, the community will suffer. Buses also bring day trippers to Steyning, who support our local businesses.

All aboard:
We’re not suggesting that everyone immediately abandon their cars and leap on the buses. If we all do that, the queues will be a bit long! But how about using the bus once or twice a month, to make a change from driving? Here’s a few ways the bus can work for you.

Buses for shopping:
Take the stress out of the Christmas shopping rush. The 106 will get you to Worthing in about half an hour. Or you can relax on the No. 2 services to Brighton – you’ll be saving time and money on parking!

Buses for a night out:
Enjoy Brighton and Hove’s 700+ pubs, clubs and restaurants and let the bus be your designated driver. There’s a really quick evening bus 2B that gets you into Hove in only 20 minutes; you can pick up a Brighton bus from there on the same ticket, or stay to enjoy Hove, actually. Coming home is easy – one bus an hour, on the hour, leaves Churchill Square with the last bus at 11.00pm.You can dance almost all night, too, as on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights there’s a late clubbers bus, the N96, which leaves Churchill Square at 1.35am, getting you safely home to Steyning in under an hour. Much cheaper than a cab!

Buses for a day out:
How about making the most of our rural bus service for a day out? Catch the 100 to Henfield, and enjoy a walk home along the Downs Link footpath. Treat yourself to a good pub lunch and maybe some local beers too – after all, you’re not driving!

You can get the 100 to Cootham Village Hall for a walk through Parham Park, or it stops right by Pulborough Brooks RSPB for a day’s bird watching.

Buses for work:
Try the fast commuter bus to Brighton on weekdays. The 59 leaves Steyning at 7.15am, arriving at Brighton station at 8.04am. Evenings, it leaves Brighton Station at 5.17pm, back to Steyning before 6pm.

What you can do:
Our campaigning has won a reprieve, and now is the time to prove that we need our buses.So hop on the bus and show your support for these vital services.

Timetables:
You can pick up timetables from the Steyning Post Office or Library, or online at:
Compass Travel: www.compass-travel.co.uk
Brighton and Hove Buses: www.buses.co.uk

For more information on the proposed cuts, see:
1010 Steyning www.1010steyning.org
West Sussex: www.westsussex.gov.uk

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