Andrew Kay has found the key and is loving life now that he has unlocked Brighton and Hove

Have you found the Key? Well I have, and I have to say that it has made a huge difference to my life. I discovered it by chance; whilst browsing the world wide web I filled in an online application and a few days later the Key was a big part of my life. Anyone who is worrying that the Key is some strange quasi-religious cult or self confidence programme can rest easy. The Key is simply the new bus pass from Brighton and Hove Buses. No, not that one, how rude! I have a few years to go before I get the crumbly card, but when I do, or should I say if, as there is a chance that those kind of perks will disappear, then I will hammer it!

“With petrol the price it is and Brighton’s bus service being so good I cannot understand why more of us are not taking advantage”

With no car since Christmas, public transport has been my chosen means of travel.
I liked the one-day saver ticket but it did tend to get lost in my pocket and fall apart in the rain. The Key is a far better option and once in hand I went online and purchased my first weekly pass for a princely £15, that’s seven days unlimited travel on any Brighton and Hove Bus Company vehicle. In week one I clocked up over 35 journeys; you can check your travel history on the website. Now 35 journeys at £2 a go as it was, or £2.20 as it now is, comes in at a shocking £70 – for which I had paid £15. Well, with petrol the price it is and Brighton’s bus service being so good I cannot understand why more of us are not taking advantage.

I have also discovered something else. We Brightonians are pretty nice people. The people who use the buses and the people who drive them are so polite, nearly everyone says please and thank you as they get on and thank you as they get off, and the drivers all respond with a cheery word and a smile – well most of them, there have been some exceptions. It was highlighted even more when I had to get the Coastliner 700 to see dreamthinkspeak. “Is my Key valid?” I politely enquired of the driver. “No!” he responded curtly. I was shocked, I even wondered whether his abrupt manner was a part of the performance. But unfortunately not, how sad when we are all so jolly on our red and cream buses.