Brighton and Hove Buses are offering free travel to children accompanied by an adult for the first two weekends in December to kick off the festive season.
Managing director Martin Harris said: “We want to help families enjoy Christmas shopping this year without the worry of having to drive or park in the city. Hopefully this offer will encourage people to leave the car at home and travel in by bus, easing congestion in town during a very busy period”.
Deputy council leader Gill Mitchell said: “This is a great offer from Brighton and Hove Bus Company. Families can travel cheaply and easily into the city to enjoy their shopping, which is good news for them, the environment and our local economy.”
The bus company last week took home gongs at the UK Bus Awards, being named Top City Operator and winning the Putting Passengers First Gold award for its Accessible Travel for Our City programme.
The bus company was applauded for the way it thinks and acts local, works closely with city partners, engages with the community, invests in technology and engineering and for its numerous initiatives on accessibility.
The company’s accessibility programme “Accessible Travel for our City” won the highest accolade with a Gold Award under the Putting Passengers First category.
The judges noted an absolute commitment to accessible travel that reflects a company-wide ethos and not just a standalone project. The programme has won praise from user groups locally and nationally and has helped transform travel for many people in the city.
The bus company was also awarded Silver for UK Bus Operator of the Year and Bronze for Engineer of the Year – with an entry for body shop supervisor Frank Clasen.
Mr Harris said: “Receiving these awards shows that we are moving in the right direction in continuing to improve our services. We have had our challenges this year so it is great to see that, despite this, the hard work and absolute commitment of the whole team has been recognised and rewarded.
“We are particularly delighted to have won the Gold Award for Putting Passengers First with our ‘Accessible Travel for our City’ programme which we are passionate about. Helping people to have the freedom, ability and confidence to travel, and on improving journey experiences for all, is where our staff have really made a difference.”
