Your guide to accessible buses for people with disabilities
all Brighton & Hove's bus routes are operated with low-floor buses
what type of wheelchair can I take on a bus?
Download our pdf to see if your wheelchair is acceptablePeople using wheelchairs are welcome on board nearly all of our buses. There are just a few older single deck buses still in our fleet without a ramp or a designated wheelchair space, but they are low-floor. The only buses not yet wheelchair accessible run on some journeys on route 46 between Hollingbury and Southwick. Double deck wheelchair accessible buses also operate on these routes so if you want to travel, phone our Customer Services team on 01273 886200 and they can let you know which journeys will have a wheelchair accessible bus that day.
do I have to use the designated wheelchair space on the bus?
Yes. The regulations only allow a wheelchair to be carried in the designated space - it's on the nearside immediately after the luggage rack over the front wheel. Wheelchairs must be reversed up to the "ironing board" style cushion and face the rear of the bus. Brakes must be applied.
There is no legal requirement for other passengers to give up their seat to accommodate a wheelchair user, but we do rely on the goodwill of other passengers to cooperate. We ask our drivers to make reasonable requests to other passengers to move if it is practical, but we rely on everyone helping each other.
Only one wheelchair can be carried on each bus.
what about the ramps?
The City Council has an ongoing programme of making as many bus stops as possible in the city easily accessible. This involves special raised kerbs so that the bus can get right next to it and a wheelchair user gets on or off without even needing a ramp. In other cases the driver will activate a ramp to make getting on and off the bus with a wheelchair quick and easy.
Our latest Route 1, 5, 6 and 7 buses have a new style of manually operated ramp which a carer can activate. There's a clearly displayed lever built into the ramp and it easily opens by pulling upwards, but the driver will also be happy to activate the ramp.
bikes on buses?
Folding bikes can be carried on buses provided that they can be safely stowed in the luggage area and they do not have any parts such as handlebars or pedals sticking out which could cause a danger to other passengers. Bikes can be carried on route 79 to and from Ditchling Beacon, this is the only exception.
