Last updated: 9 October 2026 at 5:52pm BST
In short
- Sussex & Brighton’s first joint Local Transport Delivery Plan was approved on 8 October and announced on 9 October 2026.
- It brings together around £455 million of transport spending over four years, including nearly £100 million for buses.
- Almost £40 million is earmarked for services, £39 million for bus-priority infrastructure and almost £6 million for local fare offers.
- This does not mean new routes or timetables start immediately: many schemes were already agreed by the three councils.
- A national £2 cap on eligible single bus fares is due to run throughout 2027 on participating services.
Bus passengers in Brighton, Hove and across Sussex have been given the clearest picture yet of planned regional investment, after the Sussex & Brighton Strategic Authority approved a four-year transport programme worth around £455 million.
The authority announced the decision on Friday 9 October, following its board meeting on Thursday. Nearly £100 million is associated with buses, but passengers should not read the announcement as an instant timetable change or a completely new pot of money.
What the Sussex bus funding covers
The Strategic Authority’s announcement divides the largest identified bus allocations into three broad areas:
- Almost £40 million over three years to support services, including higher frequencies, longer operating hours, punctuality improvements and socially necessary routes.
- £39 million for bus lanes, traffic-signal priority, more accessible stops and real-time passenger information.
- Almost £6 million for local fare offers in parts of Sussex.
The wider plan covers Brighton & Hove, East Sussex and West Sussex. It puts the three councils’ delivery programmes into one regional document for the first time.
That distinction matters. The authority says the individual schemes had already been developed and agreed by the councils. The decision creates a shared programme and a stronger basis for coordinating routes and seeking future funding; it does not turn every line in the document into a newly funded project.
What else is in the £455 million plan
Alongside buses, the plan includes around £250 million over four years for roads, pavements, drainage and bridges. More than £150 million of that is described as road resurfacing funding, while more than £11 million is allocated to School Streets designed to improve safety around school gates.
Investment in electric-vehicle charging is also included. Brighton residents can separately read our guide to the city’s EV charging price and operator changes from 15 October.
Some larger projects remain bids rather than confirmed construction commitments. The plan lists corridor improvements on the A22 and A259, bus lanes and junction work between Chichester and Bognor Regis, and walking, wheeling and cycling improvements on the A259 between Shoreham and Hove among schemes for which further funding is being sought.
What changes for Brighton and Hove passengers
No new Brighton & Hove route, frequency or start date was announced with the plan. Residents should therefore continue to use current operator timetables rather than assume that a service will become more frequent.
The practical potential lies in the combination of revenue and infrastructure funding. Supporting a route can keep or extend a service, while signal priority and bus lanes are intended to make the same service more reliable. Accessible stops and real-time screens matter particularly when a delay or a missed connection affects a school, hospital or work journey.
The regional approach could also help journeys that cross council boundaries, including travel between Brighton, Shoreham, Crawley, Lewes, Newhaven and towns further across Sussex. Those trips are where fragmented planning is most visible to passengers, even though the traveller experiences one journey.
How the £2 fare cap fits in
The local fare funding is separate from the national cap. The Department for Transport has confirmed that eligible single fares on participating services in England outside London will be capped at £2 from 1 January to 31 December 2027. The current £3 cap continues until the end of 2026.
The wording “participating services” is important. Passengers should check the operator and route before relying on the cap, especially for specialist, community or non-standard services.
Brighton Locals’ view
A single Sussex transport programme is a useful and overdue step. Local journeys do not stop at administrative boundaries, and bringing service funding, road maintenance and bus-priority projects into one view should make gaps and duplicated work easier to identify.
However, the £455 million headline needs careful handling. Much of the programme combines spending and schemes that were already in development, while several major corridors still require further funding. The plan’s success should be judged by measurable changes: protected routes, shorter waits, longer operating hours, punctuality data, accessible stops and clear delivery dates.
For Brighton and Hove passengers, the announcement is promising but not yet a timetable. Publishing route-level commitments will be the point at which residents can assess who benefits and when.
What happens next
The Strategic Authority’s forward plan says the Local Transport Delivery Plan is due to be submitted to the Department for Transport by 31 October.
A separate bus reform study is also under way after the authority received £564,000 to examine options including franchising. From May 2028, the authority is expected to become the sole Local Transport Authority for the region, although councils will retain some local responsibilities.
We will be watching for published route-by-route allocations, delivery timetables, operator agreements and performance measures. Those details will show whether the new regional structure produces a better passenger experience rather than simply a better-organised funding document.
What passengers should do
- Keep using your operator’s current timetable and service-update page; the approval does not itself change today’s services.
- Check whether your route participates in the national fare-cap scheme before travelling.
- For journeys from January 2027, compare the advertised single fare with the confirmed £2 cap on eligible participating services.
- Watch for consultations or construction notices on bus lanes, stops and the A259 corridor, because infrastructure work may temporarily affect journeys before benefits arrive.
Bottom line
Sussex now has one four-year transport programme and buses take a major share of it. The opportunity is substantial, but passengers need route names, dates and performance targets before “nearly £100 million” can be translated into a better journey.
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