Brighton and Hove buses to trial two door buses to speed up journeys

Two-door buses are being considered for the busy number 1 route from Whitehawk to Mile Oak in a bid to speed up journey times.

Brighton and Hove Buses say two doors could shave minutes off the journey, as passengers would not have to wait for others to get off before they can hop on.

But the bus company also says they need to make sure wheelchair users and buggies will still be able to board the buses before it can start.

Operations director Mike Best said: “We are keen to make bus journeys quicker and we are looking at the possibility of running new two-door buses on service 1 next year as a way of achieving this.

“Quite often people waiting at bus stops cannot start to board until everyone has got off, and on a busy route like the 1 this can take some time.

“But we also need to be sure that there will be enough room for buggies and wheelchairs, so we will be looking at bus designs over the next few weeks to see whether or not this will be possible.

“It’s too early to tell what the time saving might be, but even a few minutes would be really useful.”

Geraldine DesMoulins, chief officer of the Fed Centre for Independent Living which helps disabled people said: “I think we’d all appreciate anything that makes our bus journeys quicker, especially disabled people, who often have to factor in more time for their journeys because our towns and cities are rarely designed with disabled people in mind.

“We work very closely with Brighton and Hove Buses and know they take accessibility and the needs of their disabled customers very seriously. We will be happy to work with them on any new bus design ideas so that disabled people are not disadvantaged by any proposed changes.”