We are proud to be celebrating our 50th Anniversary in 2026.
Cuckmere Community Bus started running services on Tuesday 26 October 1976. There were two services initially between the villages of the Cuckmere Valley and Hailsham or Seaford. Commercial services to those villages had been withdrawn in 1971 and local pressure persuaded the authorities to try a new volunteer run service from 1976. Services ran four days a week - Tuesdays to Fridays and the pattern continued until 1997 when expansion started in order to support those first services.
Cuckmere Buses is now a Company Limited by Guarantee and a Charity. We run a fleet of 9 16-seat low floor minibuses on 20 different routes each week with just under 50 trained volunteer drivers and other non-driving volunteers. In 2025, we carried more than 88,000 passengers and recorded a surplus of nearly £10,000 which will be ploughed back into our fleet and services.
We thank all our passengers and local authorities for their support over the years!
Our latest bus, CCB31, in our 50th Anniversary livery.
It's good to see this blog by Roger French about our 50th Anniversary.
Thanks to Roger for his review:
The Art of running a Community Bus Service
The Cuckmere Community Bus is a voluntary organisation based in Berwick, East Sussex, established in 1976 with the assistance of East Sussex County Council and Southdown Motor Services Ltd (The local National Bus Company subsidiary). The organisation was established to provide local residents who do not have access to a car, together with a large number of visitors to the area, efficient, reliable and competitively priced local bus services in the Cuckmere Valley region. This coincided with the withdrawal by Southdown of poorly patronised rural bus services.
See our first timetable:
Since its formation in 1976, the Cuckmere Community Bus, with generous support from East Sussex County Council, has worked in close partnership with the local communities including Parish Councils to develop its network of local bus routes so that today it operates a fleet of 7 16-seat modern fully accessible low floor minibuses on 14 local bus services serving many local communities in East Sussex.
Funding for the network of services has been sourced from a number of providers but most notably the operation of tendered local bus services which are funded by East Sussex County Council as part of its "Rider" supported bus network. East Sussex County Council and the Cuckmere Community Bus have also worked in partnership to secure funding from the Department for Transport to provide new bus services aimed at reducing car dependency and encouraging sustainable tourism in the Cuckmere Valley area. The Cuckmere Community Bus also provides group hire services. The organisation has around 60 volunteers.
The Cuckmere Community Bus achievements in providing professional, quality bus services in the local community have been recognised over the years. In 2000 the Cuckmere Community Bus won the first ever 'Buses for Pleasure' award in the Bus Industry Awards presentation for its services aimed at improving access to the countryside and local attractions for people, without the need to travel by car. Then in 2006 the organisation was awarded the Queen's Award for Voluntary Services the highest award that can be bestowed on a group of volunteers and equivalent to an MBE for individuals. The award was given in recognition of the fact that services are operated entirely by volunteers for the benefit of the local community, residents and visitors.
Philip Ayers, March 2013
Our first bus, CCB1, on its first day in 1976.
We are delighted to have featured in the January 2023 edition of Buses Magazine. The article by David Jenkins tells our story with illustrations of our buses over the years.
Read the article:
This article was written by David Jenkins and appeared in the January 2023 issue of Buses Magazine.
In October 2016 we celebrated our 40th anniversary and at a celebration tea held at the Cavendish Hotel in Eastbourne, our Managing Director Philip Ayers, gave a really informative speech entitled 'The First 40 Years'. The afternoon event was attended by around 160 guests - current & former volunteers, councillors and dignitaries from many of the Towns and Parishes we serve, together with the Mayor of Eastbourne, representatives from our suppliers and from Wealden and East Sussex County Councils and our local MP. Our guest of honour was The Lord Lieutenant of East Sussex.
Read Philip's speech:
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