We are very pleased to announce that the final phase of the Poems on the Buses project is now complete!
34 poems are now available to read on Brighton & Hove Buses. These include the winners and runners up of the BHAC 2023 Poetry Competition, plus a selection of other poems that were highly commended by our Competition Judge, John McCullough.
The poems are displayed on 30 Brighton & Hove Bus vehicles, fleet numbers 301-330, mostly serving Brighton & Hove Bus routes 5, 5A, and 5B. Each poem appears on at least three buses!
How to find the buses by fleet number
The fleet number of each Brighton & Hove Buses vehicle is printed front and back. In the examples below the back of vehicle 308 has the number about halfway down on the right, and the front of vehicle 302 has the number at bottom right. Each vehicle also has a name, which is printed on its front. In the example below it can be seen that fleet number 302 is called Joy Bennett.

Brighton & Hove Buses have a πlist of all their vehicles by fleet number. From there you can also find out about the people the buses have been named after. The bus company also provide a marvellous πtracking page for individual vehicles.
Also check out this πindependent website that provides a quick easy way of checking which bus route an individual vehicle is serving.
The Brighton & Hove Bus Company have very kindly provided us with details of which poems are on which vehicles. All the details are in the two tables below!
πJump to the list of Brighton & Hove vehicles by fleet number and name, with poets’ names.
List of poems by author
Author | Poem | Bus fleet numbers |
Alex Athanassiou | Dividing Berlin | 313, 327, 330 |
Alice Denny | Eridge Green | 303, 314, 320 |
Amanda Hodgson | Bus Ride | 312, 317,321,325 |
Barbara Archer | Hop On Hop Off | 305, 323, 329 |
Chris Hardy | A Box Of Keys | 303, 314, 320 |
Daniel Hole | They Ate My Bass | 305, 323, 329 |
Debbie Milner | A Ride Away | 313, 327, 330 |
Dillon Jaxx | Press One For Emergencies | 307, 322, 326 |
Eva Hibbs | Love Is Not Competition | 301, 308, 309, 316, 319 |
Grace Kemp | Tea And Lemonade | 301, 302, 306, 308, 315, 316, 319 |
Jill Munro | Bunted | 304, 310, 318 |
Joan Baxter | I Want To Keep It Simple But I Can’t | 303, 314, 320 |
John Kirk | All Day Long | 301, 308, 316, 319 |
Joshua Blackman | Unreadably, The Forest | 313, 327, 330 |
Julia Asling | Ghandi’s Glasses | 307, 309, 322, 326 |
Karen Antoni | Ping Pong Ball | 302, 306, 315 |
Katy Naylor | Terminal | 302, 306, 315 |
Kav R | Ode To Escapes | 311, 324, 328 |
Lottie Angell | Last Bus To Brighton | 311, 324, 328 |
Lucy Allsopp | Tropism | 305, 323, 329 |
Maddie Craig | Cigarette Packet People | 305, 323, 329 |
Maggie Redding | Black | 312, 317, 321, 325 |
Mary Allen 1 | Joy-Riding | 304, 310, 318 |
Mary Allen 2 | Lynx | 301, 308, 316, 319 |
Michael Parker | Geomorphology | 312, 317, 321, 325 |
Peta Evans | Men Are From Mars⦠| 307, 309, 322, 326 |
Peter Strong | First Kiss | 304, 310, 318 |
Peter Wellby | In The Museum Of Amazement | 312, 313, 317, 321, 325, 327, 330 |
Rebecca Zeman | On Reading A Black Poet’s Memoir | 303, 314, 320 |
Sally Spiers | The Knitter | 302, 306, 315 |
Sarah Feldman | Crimbo On Number 7 Bus | 307, 309, 322, 326 |
Simon Jenner | Philomena’s Children | 304, 310, 318 |
Stuart Poulton | The Rev Richard Coles Favourite Bus Ride | 311, 324, 328 |
Tom Fox | Thank You, To The Early Morning Of The 29th Of February 2020 | 311, 324, 328 |
Vehicle details
Find out about the routes of each vehicle here: https://bustimes.org/operators/brighton-hove-bus-and-coach-company/vehicles
Fleet no | Bus name | Poets | |||
301 | Carol Barnes | Eva Hibbs | Grace Kemp | John Kirk | Mary Allen 2 |
302 | Joy Bennett | Katy Naylor | Grace Kemp | Sally Spiers | Karen Antoni |
303 | Robert Bevan | Rebecca Zeman | Joan Baxter | Alice Denny | Chris Hardy |
304 | Peter Brackley | Pete Strong | Simon Jenner | Mary Allen 1 | Jill Munro |
305 | Caroline Brown | Daniel Hole | Barbara Archer | Lucy Allsopp | Maddie Craig |
306 | Queen Charlotte | Katy Naylor | Grace Kemp | Sally Spiers | Karen Antoni |
307 | Mary Clarke | Peta Evans | Dillon Jaxx | Sarah Feldman | Julia Asling |
308 | Andy Cunningham | Eva Hibbs | Grace Kemp | John Kirk | Mary Allen 2 |
309 | Sir Diarmuid Downs | Peta Evans | Dillon Jaxx | Sarah Feldman | Julia Asling |
310 | Dame Millicent Fawcett | Pete Strong | Simon Jenner | Mary Allen 1 | Jill Munro |
311 | Sarah Forbes-Bonetta | Stuart Poulton | Tom Fox | Kav R | Lottie Angell |
312 | Frederick Gordon | Maggie Redding | Peter Wellby | Amanda Hodgson | Michael James Parker |
313 | Bob Gunnell | Joshua Blackman | Peter Wellby | Debbie Milner | Alex Athannassiou |
314 | Jacky Harding | Rebecca Zeman | Joan Baxter | Alice Denny | Chris Hardy |
315 | Mary Hare | Katy Naylor | Grace Kemp | Sally Spiers | Karen Antoni |
316 | Daisy & Violet Hilton | Eva Hibbs | Grace Kemp | John Kirk | Mary Allen 2 |
317 | Henry Holden | Maggie Redding | Peter Wellby | Amanda Hodgson | Michael James Parker |
318 | Dr Louisa Martindale | Pete Strong | Simon Jenner | Mary Allen 1 | Jill Munro |
319 | Reginald Noyce | Eva Hibbs | Grace Kemp | John Kirk | Mary Allen 2 |
320 | Maudie Ottaway | Rebecca Zeman | Joan Baxter | Alice Denny | Chris Hardy |
321 | Richard Patching | Maggie Redding | Peter Wellby | Amanda Hodgson | Michael James Parker |
322 | Marie-Antoine Careme | Peta Evans | Dillon Jaxx | Sarah Feldman | Julia Asling |
323 | David Rutter | Daniel Hole | Barbara Archer | Lucy Allsopp | Maddie Craig |
324 | Frank Swaysland | Stuart Poulton | Tom Fox | Kav R | Lottie Angell |
325 | Betty Walshe | Maggie Redding | Peter Wellby | Amanda Hodgson | Michael James Parker |
326 | Alfred Waterhouse | Peta Evans | Dillon Jaxx | Sarah Feldman | Julia Asling |
327 | Rupert Webb | Joshua Blackman | Peter Wellby | Debbie Milner | Alex Athannassiou |
328 | Frederick Wesche | Stuart Poulton | Tom Fox | Kav R | Lottie Angell |
329 | John Wisden | Daniel Hole | Barbara Archer | Lucy Allsopp | Maddie Craig |
330 | Thomas Highflyer | Joshua Blackman | Peter Wellby | Debbie Milner | Alex Athannassiou |