Cheaper ways to travel by bus

Cheaper ways to travel by bus

Making sense of the new fare structures in East Sussex.

The £2 fare cap was introduced in September 2022 to make bus travel more affordable and to encourage more people to travel by bus. It also helped to make bus travel less confusing. Most adult fares were £2 so we knew how much each journey would cost.

The difference between the true fare and the £2 cap was made up from national government funding with money set aside extended to the end of 2024. The fare cap has been successful in bringing more people back to buses, but real and lasting change doesn’t happen overnight and the new government sensibly decided to extend the fare cap into 2025. However, the maximum fare has increased from £2 to £3. Some local authorities and operators have taken this change as an opportunity to review tickets and see whether lower fares can be offered.

Will you pay £1, £2 or £3?

East Sussex County Council have worked with local bus operators to reduce the impact of the higher fare cap using Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) money, which is separate to the national fare cap funding. There are now three single fares for adults, £1, £2 and £3.

On January 1st, some fares went down to £1, some stayed at £2 and some went up to £3. The fare you pay depends on the actual fare set by the bus operator – what you would pay if there wasn’t a national cap.

The table below compares the uncapped fare with what you pay now.

Uncapped fare You Pay
Under £2
£1
£2 – £2.99
£2
£3 or more
£3

As we have got so used to paying £2 fares, it’s hard to know what the fares for trips would be without the cap.

The safest way to find out what your bus journey will cost before you travel, is to check the bus operator web pages or use their apps (see links to bus operators below.)

At the time of writing, the same journey can have different costs with different bus operators. For example, a journey from Willingdon Church Street to Polegate currently costs £2 on Stagecoach buses and £3 on Brighton & Hove buses. The good news from the East Sussex BSIP team is that bus operators are currently reviewing some of their fares and adjusting them to make them more consistent. Watch this space.

Children’s fares are not capped in East Sussex, but they start from 50p.

Read on to find out about ways to travel for less.

stickman style cartoon of man sitting on a bench at a bus stop looking confused

Find the deal for you ...

Are you travelling with children?

Adult fare payers or concessionary pass holders can bring up to four children under the age of 19, for 50 pence each. You must travel with all of the children for their whole journey.

For children travelling without an adult, see  ‘Are you under 19?’ below.

stickman style drawing of woman and three children waiting a a bus stop. the children all have 50p written on their t-shirts

Are you catching more than one bus?

Remember, the fare cap applies to a single bus journey. If your journey involves catching two buses, the total price could be anything between £2 and £6 each way. Better deals are available and we’ve highlighted some of the best deals below.

Return fares

Stagecoach no longer offer return tickets, but check what the return fare is with Brighton & Hove Buses, Compass or Cuckmere as this may save you money.

Day Rider ticket

If your journey involves more than one bus, then an East Sussex Day Rider ticket may be your best option. Bus operators offer their own day rider ticket for use on their buses only. You can also buy the East Sussex multi-operator Day Rider ticket for use on: Stagecoach, Brighton & Hove Buses, Metrobus, Compass, Cuckmere, Big Lemon and Wealden Community Transport services within East Sussex.

A multi-operator day ticket will cost you:

  • £3.75 if you are under 19
  • £4.75 if you are 19-29
  • £6.10 if you are 30 or over

You can buy an East Sussex multi-operator ticket from the bus operators: either use the app or buy from the driver on the bus. If you are buying from the driver, be very clear you want a multi-operator ticket – they often assume you want one just for their services.

You can use multi-operator tickets on bus services within the East Sussex County Council area. Note that this area does not include Brighton & Hove, but if your trip starts or ends in East Sussex, you can use your Day Rider ticket. For example, if you travel from Eastbourne to Brighton on the 12, or 28 bus, you can use your ticket. If you make a trip that starts in Brighton and ends in Brighton, you cannot use your ticket. Similarly, you can travel from Eastbourne to Tunbridge Wells in Kent and back again on Stagecoach bus 51, using a multi-operator ticket, but you cannot use an East Sussex ticket on a journey that starts and ends in Kent. 

If you are under 30 and want to buy a  discounted ticket, you can use the ESCC Age Verification app. 3-ID cards can also be used as proof of age, along with official documents such as a passport or driving license, but you may not want to carry these official documents around with you.

line drawing of two buses next to each other

Are you under 19? (deals for school age children)

 These fares are for unaccompanied children:
  • The East Sussex weekly Freedom Pass for under 19s is still £15. With this bus pass, you can have unlimited travel (on as many bus services as you like with as many operators as you like) on any bus in the East Sussex area for seven days in a row, at all times and days of the year. (This price may be changed at end of July 2025.) The Freedom Pass is a paper ticket which you must buy on the bus. Use the ESCC Age Verification app to prove your age.
  • Off-peak travel (after 6pm on school days and anytime on weekends, bank holidays and school holidays) Unaccompanied children (under 19s) pay £1 for a single fare during off-peak hours.
  • If you travel to and from school within the Eastbourne and Hailsham travel zone (see below), Stagecoach offer a 7 day ‘Eastbourne child weekly ticket’ for £13.50. This is a paper ticket sold on the bus. It is not available from their app. To buy this ticket you will need to be in school uniform, or carry a valid 3iD card. See  Stagecoach information on fare deals for travelling to school, (also covers the annual Student Rider bus pass). 
stickman drawing of three children waiting at a bus stop

If you don’t travel every day

Stagecoach Flexi tickets with Stagecoach app

Flexi tickets are designed for people who have different travel patterns, for example hybrid workers who don’t have to travel to work every day. You can buy

  • Flexi5 – 5 Day Rider tickets for the price of 4, or
  • Flexi10 – 10 Day Rider tickets for the price of 7

Flexi tickets allow you to travel any time of day within specific zones. You can choose which days you want to travel on, as long as you use all tickets within 12 months of purchasing them.
You can buy Flexi tickets for the Eastbourne network zone, or for the Southeast network.

The Eastbourne network zone covers Eastbourne, Willingdon, Polegate, Hailsham, Upper Horsebridge, Roebuck Park, Stone Cross, Pevensey, Westham and everything in between.

The Southeast network zone covers bus services across Kent and East Sussex. (for example Canterbury, Ashford, Ramsgate, Margate, Folkestone, Dover, New Romney, Lydd, Rye, Tenterden, Northiam, Hawkhurst, Hastings, Bexhill-on-Sea, Pevensey, and Eastbourne network.)
You need a mobile phone and the Stagecoach app to buy and use Flexi tickets.

See also Stagecoach MegaRider 7 day and 30 day tickets.

advert for a stagecoach shows hand holding mobile with a flexi5 ticket on screen. Above the phone are the words 'Flexi5 - a bus ticket designed for flexible and part-time workers. Flexi5 - 5 DayRider tickets for the price of 4. Use them anytime in the same year.'
Eastbourne Area Bus Zone - click on the image to go to original document.

Going out for the evening? (from 6pm)

With the Stagecoach South East EveningRider you can have unlimited travel for one evening on all Stagecoach buses in the South East region until 04:00 the following day – adult fare £4.50

EveningRider group fares

The Stagecoach South East Group EveningRider is a new offer for up to five people travelling together in the evening. Five adults can travel together for one evening for £10.

Other group tickets from Stagecoach include East Sussex Group Day Rider, South East Group DayRider – see Stagecoach Group tickets