#WestSussBus - finding out your views on the buses

The number 51 bus from Horsham bus station . We only have three bus a day the last one to get home leaves at around one o’clock. So if we go into town for Doctors or dentist doesn’t give you much time for shopping. Please could you help us with this I feel a lot more people would use the bus if we had a better service. At the moment we often have to use the car which really is not helping the environment

I caught the 270 bus yesterday afternoon to meet a friend locally, I am severely visually impaired bus user and use a white cane. Unfortunately the bus didn’t have any audio announcements on it and so was unsure when to get off. After alighting I was given no warning from the bus driver that the bus had not parked on a pavement and that it was in the middle of the road, this caused me to feel disoriented as to where I was due to it not stopping in it’s usual place and some warning about change of location would be helpful another time as well as if there is a steeper step than usual S even though my cane will detect steps the depth of this can be difficult to judge,

I am a regular bus user and generally the drivers are considerate and helpful but not on this occasion.. I also find it difficult to locate a seat especially when busy and very rarely does another passenger offer assistance.

I have sent an email regarding this matter and hope to hear from someone about this soon,

Kind regards

Emily Boyd

No17 Horsham- Henfield-Brighton welcome but unreliable timing, now only every hour, was every half hour, dirty windows, drivers too fast and jerky unsafe feeling on board....

Newly disabled and not allowed to drive so having to rely on public transport, buses in particular. I am appalled at how poor/limited the services are. The number 17 service Horsham to Brighton needs to urgently be improved. Only hourly buses, no service on a Sunday at all, so what am I supposed to do just never leave the house on a Sunday? I live in the middle of no where, no shops nothing which wasn't a problem whilst I could drive but now I can't, I feel isolated and trapped.

I want to use public transport, but never did before due to how terrible it is, now I have no choice and I am being forced into living an abnormal isolated life. I don't even know who to contact/complain to as no where seems to say who is responsible. One says council other says operator... an extremely upsetting, frustrating and disappointing issue.

Bus 55 Tangmere was almost 12 minutes late and I was still waiting for the bus. The bus passed across the station and did not stop despite me waving hands driver looked and ignored.really dissapointed with the service

I just spent considerable time filling in a complaint form for the 700 bus service - regarding an exceptionally rude driver. The form DOESN'T work. Fails to recognise both locations (no "pop up" list appears) or even the route number (ditto). Impossible to submit. The usual "we value your feedback" bull appears on the form.
Also, for many months the 700 service runs buses IN PAIRS! Usually one is almost empty. Every user remarks on this fact.

I love thé 500 bus, it’s always punctual and the drivers are very considerate to people getting on and off the bus.
It’s certainly made my life so much easier and having spoken to others who use this bus have all said how it’s changed their lives. “Well Done”.

Janet Beresford

I live in Eastergate and thought the new 500 service would be life-changing particularly as it was heralded as giving access to the Portfield shops. Yes, the Compass 85 and 85a service gave access but it was almost unusable because it was only one every two hours and getting the timings right was nigh on impossible.
How disappointing then to find that the 500 doesn’t stop at the Portfield shops at all. Why? I have to use my car just as much as before - there have been one or two exceptions - but, if we’re to make transport sustainable, public transport needs to take us where we need to go, not just where we’d like to go. I don’t understand it especially as a bus stop is already there.

There is an insufficient bus service between Shoreham and Horsham, the train is not an alternative as this is also inadequate

Fantastic to have a bus that goes by fontwell to Chichester - 500 bus. This is convenient, a good price and I will be now using this more in the hope the road congestion may reduce, if more people use the bus.

The 700 bus service from Chichester to Portsmouth is running less and less frequently. In addition, it is impossible to use the 700 app to find out when the next bus is due as it ceases to function west of Chichester. In addition, there is nobody from the company, or a representative of the company at the Portsmouth Hard terminus to provide help.

I’d like to know more about the bus routes as I qualify for a Pensioner’s bus pass in 2023. But the info sent to me by West Sussex Council is absolutely useless. It does not enable me to find the answer to the simplest enquiry.

We have a very efficient 1 hourly bus service from Horsham to Brighton, but it is not enough. The no.17 used to run half hourly until it was cancelled during COVID. Everyone is being encouraged to use public transport and not our cars, but with only 1 bus an hour which finishes bout 6.30 in the evening and not at all on Sunday, we are being penalised. The buses are often over crowded with standing room only, which is not fair particularly on the elderly or infirm. Why was our 30 minute service cancelled?

Hi. To be honest I find the buses very unreliable in West Sussex.
Especially the 700 service from Bognor to Chichester. The buses are constantly cancelled, delayed or just non existent.
As a regular commuter for work this service could be much better considering the cost of a monthly ticket.

Local service No 65 serving Horsham Oakhill leaves something to be desired. Tuesday 8 August the 12.45 service from town centre claimed to be due on the electronic display board but after a wait of over 10 minutes, the display disappeared and the bus did not arrive. Not the first time that this service has failed to arrive and is frequently unreliable. An e mailed letter to Metrobus drew a totally bland and almost dismissive apology - we have copied correspondence to local M P Jeremy Quin who is contacting Metrobus himself. The No 65 - once half hourly - runs now only hourly and serves many elderly less mobile residents and any failure of the bus to appear is unhelpful in the extreme and at a time that all are being encouraged to use public transport in favour of car journeys.

Our bus service Metrobus 51 The Common, Horsham would be used by more people if it had a bus more than 3 times a day. First bus at Saxon Crescent/ Redford Avenue 09.37
Second bus 11.03
Third bus 13.03
That means you can only go into Horsham in the morning. Afternoons are a no go as is the evenings.

I travel on the no. 9 Stagecoach bus to and from Arundel, and I am very grateful for the service, as our local roads are now so congested at times that driving is too stressful. Inconsiderate parking makes the bus journey slower, sometimes the bus can barely squeeze past parked cars. Bus stops should be reserved for buses! Too many houses have been built between our coastal villages and towns, and now there is an urgent need to get people out of their cars and into buses.

Elderly passengers with back sensitivity cannot use Metrobus Services on longer routes because of jarring - partially a result of poor road conditions, partially due to minimal seat cushioning and, substantially I believe, due to lack of maintenance or renewal of bus shock absorbers.
I have sought to use the Horsham to Worthing service but found the trip too painful to repeat

I don't have a view as we have no bus service in Amberley.

We need twice as many buses on 17 Horsham to Brighton route. I keep having to stand up. There used to be 2 an hour, now it’s hourly. There used to be Sunday buses. They need to run later in the evening. This is a totally inadequate service.