There will be new Eastbourne bus lanes in 2025/26. They will mark a major step in improving public transport and reducing congestion in the town. They will also deliver significant benefits to bus reliability and journey times. The bus lanes, which will run along Seaside and St Anthony’s, are part of a wider effort to promote sustainable transport solutions. Plus they should reduce the number of car trips in the town. Priority for buses is an important step in reducing traffic on our congested roads.
East Sussex County Council’s officers (ESCC) have recommended these bus lanes should proceed. With the final decision being made at the ESCC Transport and Environment Committee on November 18th.
Background
The Government gave £41m to ESCC, for their Bus Service Improvement Programme (BSIP). ESCC state this funding is to “… to ensure that East Sussex residents and visitors enjoy the highest possible quality bus services that provide a frequent and comprehensive choice, reduce congestion and make a positive contribution to better air quality and decarbonisation.”
Without new bus priority infrastructure, such as these bus lanes, it is unlikely to succeed.
Initial Consultation
The Initial BSIP bus priority public consultation ran for 8 weeks in 2023. However the Seaside scheme had 70% opposing it. The responses highlighted concerns about the loss of on-street parking provision. As well as the negative impact on general traffic flow due to reallocating road space for bus lanes. The designers were then told to reconsider the design.
Unfortunately one of the effects of the bus lanes being rejected, as Stagecoach predicted, was the Government did not allocate any funds to the county for Zero Emission buses (ZEBRA) . Whilst Surrey, West Sussex , Kent and Brighton were funded for hydrogen and electric buses.
Second Consultation
There was then a modified scheme. This had the proposed cycle infrastructure removed. Plus a considerable number of parking places reinstated. This was to address the concerns of residents and local businesses along Seaside. This design was consulted on and this is the scheme that has been accepted. See details here
This second consultation had 2,788 completed surveys. 56% supported the new scheme and 37% opposed it. It is fair to say, this has split the town, with some opposition from some local business owners. As is often the case, businesses may over estimate the number of their customers, who drive to their premises. Only time will tell what affect the bus lanes will have!
Time Savings
ESCC predict improvements, for bus times, will vary by the time of day but should be Eastbound up to 3.6 minutes and Westbound 3.4 minutes. So on a return trip around 7 minutes. Plus there is the benefit of a more reliable timetable.
Following concerns from residents there was also further modelling undertaken. This was to include the local streets, that had junctions on Seaside. The conclusion was that “nil detriment to general traffic journey times in both the AM and PM peak periods, whilst delivering significant benefits to bus reliability and journey times.”
Transport and Environment Committee meeting
If you want to know more , here is Report pack for the Committee meeting .
Conclusion
Bus lanes along Seaside should be good for passengers. They will also play a vital role in improving overall mobility in Eastbourne , give people greater transport choices, make the area more liveable as well as improve the environment.
Paul Humphreys – EEAN Transport Group