Rail and bus group Go-Ahead has agreed to buy Arriva's bus interests in Horsham in a deal worth £5 million.

The public transport giant, which also owns train operator Southern and Brighton and Hove Bus Company, will take on its rival's fleet of 19 vehicles and 58 employees.

They will become part of Go-Ahead's bus operation Metrobus, which already runs some services in Sussex, including the Fastway service connecting Gatwick and Crawley.

The deal is expected to be completed by the beginning of October.

Go-Ahead chief executive Keith Ludeman said: “The acquisition of Arriva's Bus interests in Horsham provides Go-Ahead with another opportunity to further develop Metrobus' high quality service offer and benefits to passengers.”

A spokeswoman for Metrobus said the deal will be good news for bus passengers in Horsham.

She added: “At the moment we are keeping everything the same but we will start to look to improve the network from about the New Year onwards.”

This could include greater frequency, new routes and upgraded buses, though the spokeswoman could not comment whether this might in turn lead to higher ticket prices.

She said: “Initially there will be no changes to fairs however we might consider simplifying the fare structure in Horsham in the future as we have found in other areas that this has encouraged passenger growth.”

Councillor David Jenkins, cabinet member for strategic planning at Horsham District Council, said Metrobus already ran three successful services from Horsham to Brighton, Gatwick and Horsham.

He added: “We welcome the opportunity to continue working with them. Once Metrobus has settled in I will be seeking a meeting with the new manger to discuss how the service might progress in the future.”

One of the first subjects under discussion will be a second park-and-ride scheme to compliment the existing one the runs from just outside Southwater into the town centre and train station, Coun Jenkins said.