Brighton and Hove Buses is to drop its trademark red and cream livery and rebrand its fleet into a teal and aqua scheme. The Go-Ahead Group subsidiary’s logo will also change to reflect the new colours.
The planned change represents a first overall brand refresh in over 35 years, with red and cream having been adopted around deregulation. Its use has evolved through multiple iterations since then but it remains one of the bus industry’s most identifiable schemes.
In a promotional video introducing the rebrand, Brighton and Hove Buses Managing Director Ed Wills says that the step represents an “opportunity to modernise our look and feel” and “start a new chapter.” He adds that the overhaul “has been a long time in the planning.”
A move away from red and cream follows the introduction of Live and Breathe and Above and Beyond liveries on a fleet of 54 Alexander Dennis Enviro400ER buses purchased by the operator from 2019.
The new scheme will also debut what the business says are “new icons in a variety of colours to represent the diversity and vibrancy of the city of Brighton and Hove.”
The teal and aqua colours adopted in the new livery are claimed to better reflect the operating area’s geography and represent the sea and the sky.
It is expected that the first existing buses in the livery will debut during the autumn. Rollout will continue over a number of years, the operator notes.
Adds Mr Wills: “Our livery has not changed much since the 1990s, but we, and our city, have changed hugely in that time. That is why we are transforming our brand to more accurately represent the spirt of who we are today and the unique, vibrant city that we serve.”
