Bexhill Community Bus - The Yellow bus - is a service for all

I am one of the volunteer drivers of the Bexhill Community Bus (the Yellow Bus) and regularly speak to people who don’t understand what it is and how it operates.

It is simply a time-tabled bus service that runs along four different routes linking the ‘suburbs’ to the town centre and railway station.

It is no different to Renown, Stagecoach, etc, in that respect, but where it does get complicated is that we only use one vehicle for all four of the routes. That means that when the bus comes into town as the No. 11 from Little Common it doesn’t go back to Little Common for perhaps another two hours, but becomes either the 12 to Pebsham, 13 to Cooden Beach or 14 to Sutton Place.

It has proved difficult to explain this on the timetable, but the conductors and drivers will gladly explain the routes to you if you would like some advice.

Within the town we use the authorised bus stops served by all of the bus companies, but we are not permitted to display our timetable on them (we carry a stock on board).

Outside of the town centre it becomes a ‘Hail and Ride’ service although by habit and usage a number of unofficial stops have developed – eg, The Briary in St Peter’s Crescent, Amherst Road crossroads for Aldi.

It is a bus for EVERYONE, it is not just for older people. Regrettably with the vehicles we use currently we are unable to take wheelchairs but other than that it is what it says on the tin, a bus service for the ‘Bexhill community’.

Bus passes are accepted on the same conditions as on other buses in the town – after 9.30am on weekdays. Before 9.30am and for all non-pass holders there is a flat fare of £1 per journey per adult and 50p for children and young people.

Occasionally, just occasionally, we fill all 16 seats and when that happens it does present a problem as we may not be coming back to that stop for a couple of hours, if at all. If that were to become a frequent occurrence, then the directors would have to review the service/routes but until that happens why not come and try us out?