Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP)

This page features East Sussex County Council's Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) that was submitted to the Department of Transport (DfT) at the end of October 2021, and updates to that plan.  BSIP2 was submitted to the DfT in Spring 2025. BSIP2 is not a bidding document. 

We were awarded £41.4m of funding of our £100m+ request for funding.  The original BSIP bid document is at the link below.  Not being awarded the full bid and sharp rises in costs since 2021 inevitably meant changes to some planned improvements. 

See also:

• overview of the changes to bus services.
• proposed bus priority schemes that were consulted on. 

Our mission as a local transport authority working with in partnership with independent bus operators, is to ensure that East Sussex residents and visitors enjoy high quality bus services providing:

• a frequent and comprehensive choice
• reduce congestion
• make a positive contribution to better air quality and decarbonisation.

Bus Service Improvement Plan for East Sussex County Council [27.3 MB] [pdf]

This East Sussex Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) set out our plans and supporting policies to improve bus services, working in close cooperation with our neighbouring Local Transport Authorities and with stakeholders representing local bus operators, statutory consultees, community and business voices, bus passengers, and the voluntary and health transport sectors:

To reverse the recent shift in journeys away from public transport and encourage passengers back to using buses, the National Bus Strategy for England set out an ambitious vision to dramatically improve bus services in England outside London through greater local leadership.

Our BSIP actively addresses the National Bus Strategy's requirements to work together at pace to plan and deliver:

• a fully integrated service with simple, multi-modal tickets
• more bus priority measures
• high-quality information for all passengers in more places
• better turn-up-and-go frequencies that keep running into the evenings and at weekends.

BSIP2

East Sussex County Council Bus Service Improvement delivery plan 2025 [74.4 KB] [pdf]

East Sussex County Council - BSIP2, May 2025 [10.9 MB] [pdf]

In October 2023, the national government asked local transport authorities (LTAs) to submit an updated BSIP (Bus Service Improvement Plan). This followed on from the original BSIPs of 2021 including updates on what has been achieved and potential plans for beyond 2025. BSIP2, unlike BSIP was not a bidding document.