Recently retired boss of Brighton & Hove Buses is to be given life membership of The Big Lemon’s flagship 42 service in recognition of outstanding achievements and services to the city’s bus services.

A special meeting of The Big Lemon’s Board of Directors was called for Thursday 9 May to confer the honour on 58-year-old Mr French.

A report to The Big Lemon’s Board of Directors said:
“Roger French has spent nearly 30 years at the wheel of Brighton and Hove Buses and has had a long and distinguished career which has included his tireless work in promoting the spirit of partnership in the city.”

A spokesperson from The Big Lemon said “They say what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, so we’re very grateful to Roger for his contribution to our business and to social enterprise in the city.”

Life membership of the 42, The Big Lemon’s first ever service, will give Mr French unlimited travel between Brighton and the University of Sussex. The 42 is historically The Big Lemon’s most popular service, with huge numbers of people posting their support for the service on Facebook. When their service became under threat, passengers also came together with a petition to save it which attracted over 2000 signatures in just a few weeks.