Bus fares are to be cut on city centre routes.

Brighton and Hove Bus and Coach Company is to introduce a flat fare of £1.20 on three services.

Passengers travelling on number 81, 21 and 22 buses will make saving of between 30p and 50p.

And prices of Saver tickets, which give a week's travel or longer, are being frozen over the summer.

In Seaford, the CitySaver ticket boundary is being extended from Newhaven to Denton.

And Brighton and Hove's £1 city centre flat fare will be extended to include stops from St James Street, Edward Street and the seafront west of Rock Gardens to Palmeira Square and Seven Dials.

The fare was introduced in November last year.

Ticket prices were increased in September last year, with higher rates introduced for people travelling at peak times.

It led to protests from angry passengers, who flooded The Argus with letters of complaint.

The commuter fare has not been cut but Roger French, managing director of Brighton and Hove Bus and Coach Company, said the freeze on Saver tickets would save commuters money. He said: "The Saver fare will be frozen until later in the year, when it will be reviewed again. This will particularly affect commuters."

The cost of a seven-day Saver ticket is £14.50.

Mr French said falling fuel prices had allowed the company to reduce some fares. He said: "We put fares up last September on the back of rising fuel prices. It's a reaction to global effects that enabled us to reduce fares last November.

"Our experience since then is that the price of fuel is pretty good and we are continuing to tweak fares.

"Keeping good control of costs at the moment has helped us make the adjustments to fares."

Mr French said there had been a steady rise in the number of bus journeys made in the city.

He said: "There has been a growth of about three per cent month on month. This is down on the five per cent growth we have seen but we are affected by the weather."

The new fares will be introduced on April 22.