Terms & Conditions

 

 

Conditions of Carriage

 

This document sets out the conditions under which Brighton & Hove Bus and Coach Company Ltd provides bus services and sells tickets for travel on those bus services. It also covers the regulations provided by law which govern the way customers should conduct themselves when using buses.

 

Download the Conditions of Carriage

 

 

Private Hire Terms & Conditions

 

Brighton & Hove Bus and Coach Company Limited trading as Spirit of Sussex (“we”, “our”, and the “Company”) provide the very highest levels of service and as such, we invite you (the “hirer”) to read through our Terms & Conditions before you travel so that you understand your rights and obligations in using one of our vehicles.

 

Brighton & Hove Bus and Coach Company Limited trading as Spirit of Sussex (“we”, “our”, and the “Company”) provide the very highest levels of service and as such, we invite you (the “hirer”) to read through our Terms & Conditions before you travel so that you understand your rights and obligations in using one of our vehicles.

 

1. APPLICATION

1.1.     These Terms and Conditions apply whether a contract has been made verbally or in writing. 

1.2.     The hirer acts on behalf of all passengers travelling on our vehicles. If the hirer is a company, group, or partnership, an individual must be named as a responsible person.

1.3.     The hirer is responsible for the actions and decisions of all passengers on board including any additional costs which are incurred in performing the contract, whether or not they actually travel with those passengers.

1.4.     If the hirer is not going to travel with the party, a representative must be nominated and the Company informed prior to the hire taking place. The Company will only accept instruction form the hirer or their nominated representative.

1.5.     A copy of these Terms & Conditions will be provided to the hirer at the point of making a booking or, by request, at any point prior to booking. Once a booking has been made, the hirer will be deemed to accept, and all bookings are subject to, these Terms & Conditions.

 

2. QUOTATIONS

2.1.     Quotations are given on the basis of the information provided by the hirer. The route used will be at the discretion of the Company unless it has been particularly specified by the hirer in which case it will be clearly shown on the booking confirmation.

2.2.     All quotations are given subject to the Company having available a suitable vehicle at the time the hirer accepts the quotation.

2.3.     Quotations are valid for 28 days from the date of issue unless otherwise notified.

2.4.     Quotations are given for the coach and driver only. Any additional charges will be separately identified and will be the hirer’s responsibility, unless otherwise specified, including parking, road tolls and accommodation.

2.5.     Quotations made for hire periods of at least eight weeks may be subject to a fuel surcharge, if there is a significant rise in the net cost of fuel.  Where the quotation is made for a hire commencing at least eight weeks after the request, the hirer accepts that there may be a fuel surcharge added to the price of the hire if there is a significant rise in the net cost of fuel.

2.6.     If the net cost of fuel increases significantly after making a booking, the Company will inform the hirer of any additional charges at its earliest convenience.

 

3. USE OF THE VEHICLE

3.1.     The hirer cannot assume that the use of the vehicle between the outward and return journeys will be for the hirer’s use nor that the vehicle will remain at the destination for the hirer’s use unless this has been agreed with the Company in advance.  The hirer accepts that where the Company has agreed with the hirer in advance, the hirer will be liable to additional charges unless otherwise agreed with the Company.

 

4. CONDUCT OF PASSENGERS INCLUDING HEALTH & SAFETY

4.1.     Health and Safety is paramount to our organisation and, as such, all passengers are asked to wear their seat belts whilst on the vehicle and abide by all information given by the driver and / or the Company and where displayed in the vehicle. If minors are travelling on the vehicle, they must be under the supervision of a responsible adult or the hirer or their representative. Under no circumstances may children travel on another passengers lap.  A suitable child seat, booster seat or child restraint must be supplied by the hirer.

4.2.     The driver is responsible for the safety of the vehicle at all times and, as such, may remove any passenger whose behaviour prejudices the safety of him or herself, the driver and / or of the other passengers or is in breach of the Public Service Vehicle (Conduct of Drivers, Inspectors, Conductors and Passengers) Regulations 1990 (as amended). The hirer is responsible for any damage, loss, cost and liability caused by the behaviour of any passenger for the duration of the hire.

4.3.     Please be advised that, where there are instances of health and safety breaches by children or minors who are passengers in our vehicles, the hirer will be responsible for their actions. In certain circumstances, this can result in a passenger being refused travel, for example.

4.4.     Smoking is not permitted at any time on any of our vehicles. This includes the use of substitute smoking materials such as electronic cigarettes or vaporisers. Anyone found smoking on our vehicles will be asked to disembark and we will not be responsible for any losses or costs which arise.

4.5.     All school groups must ensure that they understand their obligations for planning, supervision, approval and preparation of pupils etc as set out in the DfES publication 'Health and Safety of Pupils on Educational Visits ' (HASPEV). We can provide a Company based risk assessment to cover your hire of our vehicle. Please ensure that you have an adequate level of supervision to ensure that emergency exits on our vehicles have at least one adult staff member seated by them in case of emergency.

4.6.     Alcohol must not be consumed on our vehicles without prior consent from the Company. Where no consent has been given, and a passenger consumes alcohol whilst on the vehicle, we reserve the right to remove that passenger, with reasonable force (if necessary), at any location and will not be liable to that passenger as a result thereof.

4.7.     The Company reserves the right to refuse passage to any passenger if he / she is viewed to present a danger to themselves, other passengers and / or the driver as a result of consuming alcohol prior to boarding.

4.8.     Further, the hirer should be aware that, where the hire of the vehicles is to and / or from a sporting event, alcohol must not be carried or consumed on our vehicles to or from that event (as required by the Sporting Events (Control of Alcohol) Act 1985, (as amended) and the conditions of entry to race courses as laid down by the Racecourse Association Ltd).

4.9.     All vehicles are fitted with spill kits. Sickness bags will be provided free of charge on all vehicles and can be used by passengers for minor sickness if necessary.

4.10. Any cleaning of the vehicle, which goes above and beyond the daily cleanse that a driver will do at the end of a duty, will be subject to a cleaning charge of £50 per hour (minimum charge £30).  This will include situations where sick bags and spill kits have been provided but not been used properly.

 

5. ROUTES AND TIME VARIATION

5.1.     The Company reserves the right to levy additional charges for additional mileage or time to that agreed, if the hirer exceeds those stated on their confirmation or quotation documents, the charges will be pro-rata on an hourly and / or mileage basis.

5.2.     The vehicle will depart at times agreed by the hirer and it is the responsibility of the hirer to account for all the passengers to embark the vehicle at those times. The Company will not accept liability for any costs, losses and liabilities incurred by passengers who fail to follow instructions given by the hirer.

5.3.     Our vehicles are often scheduled for work before, after or in-between individual hires and as such, it is imperative that booked departure times are adhered to. If there is a need to delay, authorisation must be sought from the driver, so as not to inconvenience other customers.

 

6. DRIVER’S HOURS

6.1.     The hours of operation for the driver are regulated by law.  The hirer accepts the responsibility of ensuring that the hire keeps to the hours and times agreed with the Company at the time of the booking. Neither the hirer nor any passenger shall delay or otherwise interrupt the journey in such a way that the driver is at risk of breaching regulations relating to driving hours and duty times. If any breach is likely to occur, the hirer will be responsible for any additional costs incurred unless it is outside the control of the hirer. The calculation of any costs will be as in Condition 5.

 

7. SEATING CAPACITY

7.1.     The Company will, at the time of booking, agree and specify the legal seating capacity of the vehicle to be supplied. The hirer must not load the vehicle beyond this capacity.

7.2.     The Company may, on occasions, supply a vehicle with more seats than the minimum number of seats specified in the booking.  The Company reserves the right to provide a larger vehicle than that specified at no additional charge. The Company reserves the right to substitute another vehicle (including those of other operators) or ancillary facilities for all or part of the hire subject to such substitutes being of at least equivalent quality and notified in advance to the hirer.

7.3.     The Company will not supply a vehicle fitted with fewer seats than the minimum number specified in the booking unless prior consent has been granted, or where a request is made, by the hirer (such as on occasions where the number of passengers drop or a certain vehicle is known not to fit around a certain section of route).

 

8. CONVEYANCE OF ANIMALS

8.1.     On a private hire, no animal (other than guide dogs and hearing dogs notified to the Company in advance and for which there is no charge to the hirer) may be carried on any vehicle without prior written agreement from the Company.

 

9. CONFIRMATION

9.1.     Confirmation of a booking can only be accepted by the Company using our "Acceptance Form" or in written form and is the only basis for any subsequent alterations. Confirmation of a booking by the Company will be sent to the hirer once the Company has accepted the booking.

 

10.    PAYMENT

10.1. A non-refundable deposit of 10% or £50.00 whichever is the greater is required at the time of booking.       

10.2. Payment in full must be made at least fourteen days before the start of the hire unless otherwise agreed by the Company. Please note that all invoices not settled within our payment terms will be referred to our Debt Recovery Agents and will be subject to a surcharge of 15% plus VAT in lieu of recovery charges we incur.

 

11.    WHEN WE CANCEL

11.1. In the event of any national emergency, riot, civil commotion incident, strike, lock out, stoppage or restraint of labour or on the happening of any act-of-god event over which we have no control (including adverse weather conditions or substantial increase in the net cost of fuel), we reserve the right to cancel the hire.

11.2. In the event of the hirer taking any action to vary the agreed conditions unilaterally prior to the commencement of the hire, the Company may cancel the contract. Subject to the provisions of Condition 12, and where the contract is so cancelled, we will return all monies paid and without further or other liability to the hirer and the passengers.

11.3. In the event of any cancellation by us, we will work with the hirer to find a resolution that is satisfactory to both parties.  However, and where no resolution can be found, we are not liable to the hirer or the passengers or both.

 

12.    CANCELLATION BY THE HIRER

12.1. The following cancellation scheme will be used in the event of cancellation by the hirer:

 

Notice given	Charge to hirer
31 days or more	Deposit
15-30 days	25% of balance of hire
7-14 days	50% of balance of hire
3-6 days	75% of balance of hire
Within 3 days	100% of hire

 

12.2. The hirer will be responsible for all costs associated with the hire which cannot be cancelled, if a cancellation is made at any point. This includes items such as ferry booking fees, parking etc.

 

13.    WHEELCHAIR AND MOBILITY SCOOTERS

13.1. Where the Company provides, in response to a request from a hirer, the use of a vehicle designated wheelchair-accessible, we will ensure that the passenger is able to travel in the wheelchair allocated space or, if the passengers wishes to travel in a seat, we will transport the wheelchair at no additional cost.  However, we regret we are not able to accept wheelchairs which are more than 20kgs in weight as this would make it difficult for the driver to move the wheelchair into the relevant hold area. 

13.2. We will also accept a limited number of mobility scooters provided we have no other luggage to carry and you have advised us of the need (and number) at the time of booking. Any person using a scooter must have someone accompany them to dismantle and reassemble the scooter to enable easy storage.  At no time can the hirer expect the driver to do this save that, where the driver does dismantle and / or reassemble the same, neither he nor the Company will be held responsible for any damage and costs so incurred.  Again, we regret we cannot accept mobility scooters which are more than 20kgs (when broken down into their separate parts). In any event, the driver reserves the right to refuse to carry mobility scooters due to health and safety regulations.

 

14.    BREAKDOWN OR DELAYS

14.1. The Company provides its advice on journey time in good faith. However, as a result of break down, extreme weather conditions or traffic congestion, or other events beyond the reasonable control of the Company, journeys may take longer than predicted and in those circumstances the Company will not be liable for any loss, cost, liability or inconvenience suffered by the hirer (and any connected passenger) as a result.

 

15.    AGENCY ARRANGEMENTS

15.1. Where the Company uses vehicles from other operators at the request of the hirer and where the Company arranges ancillary facilities such as meals, accommodation, ferries, admission tickets or any other services provided by another operator, it does so as agent for and on behalf of the hirer. Any terms or conditions imposed by such other operator shall, insofar as they are supplied to the hirer, be binding on the hirer as if he had directly contracted such services and the hirer shall indemnify the Company against any loss, claim, damage, liability and / or award in respect of breach of such supplier’s terms and conditions brought about by the hirer’s (and those of his or her passengers’) actions.

 

16.    PACKAGE REGULATIONS

16.1. If the hirer organises other elements of a package in addition to the provision of transport, the hirer may be defined as an ‘organiser’ or a ‘retailer’ for the purposes of the Package Travel, Package Holidays and Package Tours Regulations 1992 and as such may be required to comply with the provisions of those regulations.

16.2. In this instance, the Company cannot accept any liability that may be incurred for losses, costs, liabilities and / or damage that it would otherwise accept under those Regulations.

16.3. The hirer accepts responsibility for establishing whether they are so defined, and the Company cannot accept liability or loss or damage incurred that would have been the responsibility of the hirer if the hirer were the legally defined organiser or retailer.

 

17.    PASSENGERS’ PROPERTY

17.1. All vehicles hired by the Company are subject to restrictions on carrying luggage for statuary safety reasons. The hire accepts that the driver shall be the sole judge as to whether and to what extent passengers’ property is carried. Large ‘bulky’ items may not be able to be carried and the hirer should take all steps to notify the Company in advance of such requirements.

17.2. The Company accepts any personal property of the hirer and their passengers on the understanding that it will take all reasonable steps to avoid loss or damage. The hirer should notify to the Company or the driver if items of exceptional value are to be carried on the vehicle. It is the hirer’s responsibility to minimise risk of loss when the property is left unattended.

17.3. The limits in this section do not apply to personal injury claims.

17.4. All articles of lost property recovered from the vehicle will be held at the Company’s premises where the vehicle is based, and will be subject to the current Public Service Vehicle (Lost Property) Regulations.

 

18.    COMPLAINTS

18.1. In the event of complaint about the Company’s services, the hirer should endeavour to seek a resolution at the time by seeking assistance from the driver. If this resolution is not achieved to the reasonable satisfaction of the parties, complaints should be submitted in writing to the Company and within 14 days of the termination date of the expiry of the hire. The Company will acknowledge all complaints promptly and will normally reply in full within seven days. If this is not possible, because – for example – information is sought from a third party, the complainant will be notified within the 7 day period of the delay and the reason thereof. 

 

19.    NOTICES

19.1. No bill, poster or notice is to be displayed on any vehicle without written consent of the Company.

 

20.    LIABILITY FOR THE COMPANY

20.1. In the event of the failure of the Company to provide the booked service, any refund will be limited to the amount paid for the hire. 

20.2. The Company takes reasonable care of its passengers’ luggage and we will only be liable for any loss of or damage to such luggage caused by our negligence. Our maximum liability to the passenger for any loss of or damage to their luggage, whether for breach of contract, breach of any duty of care in relation to the luggage, our negligence, or any deliberate or negligent acts of any of our employees, agents or representatives, or otherwise, shall be limited to £500 for all such loss or damage. The hirer is responsible for ensuring that its and its connected passengers’ luggage is fully insured with reputable insurers against all usual and normal risks of loss or damage.

20.3. Nothing herein limits or excludes the Company’s liability for (a) death or personal injury caused by its negligence; (b) fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation; or (c) any other liability which cannot be limited or excluded by law.  Subject to the foregoing, the Company shall not be liable to the hirer (and any of its connected passengers) for (a) loss of contracts, sales or business; (b) loss of profits, revenue or loss of anticipated savings; (c) loss of or damage to reputation or goodwill; and (d) any indirect or consequential loss.  Subject to the foregoing, the Company’s liability to the hirer, whether in contract, tort, for breach of statutory duty or otherwise, arising under or in connection with the Company’s agreement with the hirer is limited to the total amount paid by the hirer to the Company pursuant to these Terms and Conditions.

 

21.    GOVERNING LAW

These Terms and Conditions shall be governed by English law and the hirer and the Company agree to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English Courts.

 

 

Standard Terms & Conditions of Purchase Orders

 

Download our Terms and Conditions for Purchase Orders PDF document.

 

 

Website Usage & Disclaimer

The pages ("the website") are published by Netescape Limited ("us" or "we") on behalf of Brighton & Hove Bus and Coach Company Ltd.

Please read our conditions of use carefully as by using the website you will be taken to have agreed to be bound by them. We reserve the right to vary the conditions of use at any time and will post any variations here. You are advised to review the conditions of use on a regular basis as you will be deemed to have accepted variations if you continue to use the website after they have been posted. Information published by us on the website is supplied to us by Brighton & Hove Bus and Coach Company Ltd and, where indicated, by certain third parties. We take every care and precaution to ensure that information published on the website is accurate when posted and regularly updated, but neither we nor Brighton & Hove Bus and Coach Company Ltd guarantee its accuracy and we may change the information at any time without notice.

WE PUBLISH THE WEBSITE "AS IS" WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, AS TO THE OPERATION OF OUR SITE, THE ACCURACY OF THE INFORMATION OR THE PRODUCTS OR SERVICES REFERRED TO ON THE WEBSITE (IN SO FAR AS SUCH WARRANTIES MAY BE EXCLUDED UNDER ANY RELEVANT LAW) AND NEITHER WE NOR Brighton & Hove Bus and Coach Company Ltd SHALL BE LIABLE FOR ANY LOSSES OR DAMAGE THAT MAY RESULT FROM USE OF THE WEBSITE AS A CONSEQUENCE OF ANY INACCURACIES IN, OR ANY OMISSIONS FROM, THE INFORMATION WHICH THEY MAY CONTAIN.

Copyright in these pages is owned by Brighton & Hove Bus and Coach Company Ltd. Brighton & Hove Bus and Coach Company Ltd owns the copyright in the content published on the website except where otherwise indicated by a third party's proprietary notice. Images, trade marks and brands are also protected by other intellectual property laws and may not be reproduced or appropriated in any manner without written permission of their respective owners. Unless specifically prohibited by a notice published on any page, you may make a print copy of such parts of the website as you may reasonably require for your own personal use provided that any copy has attached to it any relevant proprietary notices and/or disclaimers. All other use is prohibited.

Content and information provided by third parties other than Brighton & Hove Bus and Coach Company Ltd is identified clearly where it appears. We publish this content as supplied to us and are not responsible for its accuracy or timeliness. You must take appropriate steps to verify this information before acting upon it.

We are not responsible for the content of any other website from which you have accessed the website or to which you may hyperlink from the website and cannot be held liable for any loss or damage you incur as a result of your use of any other site from which you hyperlink to or from the website.

These conditions of use are governed by the laws of England and Wales and you agree that the English courts shall have exclusive jurisdiction in any dispute. To the extent that any part of these conditions of use is found to be invalid, unlawful or unenforceable by any court of competent jurisdiction such part shall to that extent be severed from the remaining terms all of which shall remain in full force and effect as permitted by law.

 

Website Privacy Policy

Our website privacy policy relates to information that we obtain from you when you visit this website and use our online services. 

Click here to read our privacy policy.

 

 

Cookie Policy

Cookie Policy for Brighton & Hove Bus and Coach Company Limited

 

What are Cookies?

 

Cookies are little data files that are placed onto the hardware device which you use to browse the internet (e.g. your Computer, Smartphone or Tablet, your “device”) by websites that you visit. Cookies contain information about your visits to that website and the purpose of cookies is to enable our websites to remember you, and your browsing habits, when you visit it again in the future.

 

How do we use Cookies?

 

Cookies perform many different functions, from remembering that you are logged in during visits to what user preferences you may have selected. They also help us to identify which of our web pages are the most popular and what type of journey a visitor has through our site.

 

Cookies help us plan the content and layout of our site and recognise returning visitors that have been to our site before. They therefore play an important role in helping us to enhance the usability and performance of our site to improve your visits.

 

In order to help us understand how many visitors we have, which pages are visited, and to help us develop future improvements to our site, reporting and analysis is carried out using Google Analytics who will place cookies on your device. If you have an account and log on from different devices, we may use cookies to analyse which devices are preferred. For more information on Google cookies we recommend you visit the Google website which outlines Google’s privacy policy and how to opt-out of tracking.

 

In most cases we will need your consent in order to use cookies on this website. The exception is where the cookie is essential in order for us to provide you with a service you have requested (eg to enable you to put items in your shopping basket and use our check-out process).

We provide a notice when you first visit the website, advising we use cookies.

 

We use cookies and other online tracking devices such as web beacons on this website to:

keep track of the items stored in your shopping basket and take you through the checkout process;

recognise you whenever you visit this website (this speeds up your access to the website as you do not have to log in each time);

obtain information about your preferences, online movements and use of the internet;

carry out research and statistical analysis to help improve our content, products and services and to help us better understand our visitor and customer requirements and interests;

target our marketing and advertising campaigns more effectively by providing interest-based advertisements that are personalised to your interests; (we use third party tracking cookies to do this) and

make your online experience more efficient and enjoyable.

 

What Cookies are used by this Site?

 

We do not use cookies to collect information that could identify you by name, (during your visit to our site [unless you create an account or log in to purchase a ticket from us.]) but we can distinguish different users.

The list below sets out the cookies we use and is updated with current cookies:

 

Types of cookie that may be used during your visit to our website are:

• Session cookies

• Session and permanent cookies

• Anonymous permanent cookies

• Cookie to individually identify users who have logged in

• Third party cookies

• First party cookies

 

Web beacons

 

Web beacons are usually 1 pixel size transparent images that help website owners track the activity of users on certain website pages. They can also send the tracking server (ie. us, or our technology partners) information in cookies – such as whether an HTML email with a web beacon in it has been opened. We use web beacons together with cookies to help us understand how you interact with our website and the emails we send you, to help us improve your experience, to ensure that content is relevant to you, and to better manage our website and email content.

 

Further details on web beacons, and how to manage them, can be found here.

 

How can I opt out of cookies?

 

Yes. There are a number of options available. You can control the use of cookies on your device by using the settings in your web browser (e.g. Chrome, Internet Explorer, Firefox). This also enables you to choose which type of cookies you wish to accept or not.

 

You can also change your advertising cookie preferences on this site here.

 

Deletion of some cookies will affect your ability to log in, purchase tickets, use the site or may affect the functionality of the website. 

 

You can find out more detailed information about cookies (including how to manage their use via your browser) on the information commissioner’s website  https://ico.org.uk/for-the-public/online/cookies/ and at https://www.aboutcookies.org/how-to-control-cookies/ and at www.allaboutcookies.org .

 

To opt out of being tracked by Google Analytics across all websites visit http://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout .

 

 

 

© Brighton & Hove Bus and Coach Company Ltd

43 Conway Street

Hove

BN3 3LT