From Wednesday 1st January there will be changes to bus fares and tickets in East Sussex.
Stagecoach and East Sussex County Council have worked together to reduce bus fares for communities in East Sussex. From 1st January, until at least the end of March 2025, reductions will apply to most single bus fares, which means East Sussex will have some of the lowest single bus fares in the country.
From the same date, the Government has announced there will be a new £3 single fare cap in England. This means you’ll never pay more than £3 for a single ride, no matter how far you travel.*
Also from 1st January, return tickets will no longer be available, but in most cases, two single tickets will offer the best value if you’re making a return trip, or a DayRider ticket will give you great value unlimited travel for the whole day.
East Sussex County Council will continue to support low-cost bus fares for children with great value single fares, a 50p accompanied child ticket, and an off-peak £1 single for the under 19s.
DayRider and MegaRider ticket prices will increase, but local DayRider tickets will be restored at Hastings and Eastbourne. East Sussex DayRider tickets will continue to be available for unlimited travel around the county, supported by East Sussex County Council, for adults, young people under 30 years, and under 19s.
A Family DayRider will be replaced with a new Group DayRider ticket, offering great value for up to five people travelling together.
Weekly point-to-point tickets will no longer be available on Stagecoach buses.
You can find the full details and FAQs below.
FAQS
Why are you removing return tickets?
Removing return tickets will simplify our ticket offering and provide more flexibility for you to choose the best value option for your travel requirements. With single fares reduced to some of the lowest levels in the country (thanks to support from the Government and East Sussex County Council), buying a single ticket each time you travel will in most cases be the lowest-cost option.
You can also consider if a DayRider might be a more suitable option for one day’s unlimited travel. We also offer bundles of local or South East DayRider tickets on our app, called Flexi tickets, which offer even better value and can be used whenever you want.
My child buys a child return ticket, why are you removing child returns?
Most children in East Sussex are eligible for the County Council’s weekly Freedom ticket which offers the very best value option for children in school uniform or who carry a free 3-iD card. But we recognise that removing return tickets will affect some families where children currently buy a return ticket whenever they travel by bus.
With support from East Sussex County Council, there’s a great value range of child single tickets starting from just 50p through to a maximum of £3. In many cases buying a child single ticket for each leg of the journey will be the best value option. But there’s also the East Sussex DayRider U19 ticket for children and young people up to the age of 18 years. This ticket gives unlimited travel for one day at just £3.75 anywhere around East Sussex. The East Sussex DayRider U19 is available on the bus from the driver, or on the Stagecoach Bus App.
Why are you increasing the cost of East Sussex DayRider tickets?
East Sussex DayRider tickets are supported by East Sussex County Council who subsidise the tickets with funds from the East Sussex Bus Service Improvement Plan. This ensures the price for bus users is kept as low as possible. Unfortunately the cost of operating bus services has risen by over 26% since the tickets were introduced in 2022. Therefore, to ensure there is enough funding to keep the tickets at a reduced-price level for as long as possible, East Sussex County Council has taken the decision to apply a modest increase in the price.
Why are you increasing the cost of MegaRider tickets?
During the period since 2022 when the Government first introduced the £2 national single fare cap, we’ve held our DayRider and MegaRider prices as low as possible to ensure they continue to offer good value for frequent bus travel compared to buying single fares. These increases are necessary to rebalance our prices across the range of ticket options available and help recover our operating costs which have risen by over 26% during the same period.
Why are you removing the weekly point-to-point ticket?
Unfortunately we’re no longer able carry the cost of providing this unsupported legacy ticket. In most cases the reduced single fares, supported by East Sussex County Council, will offer the best value option for regular travel on services where this ticket was available. Alternatively, an East Sussex DayRider U30 or U19 ticket may be a better choice.