“The electric buses are really very good; quiet, comfortable and powerful on the hills, they have proved popular with drivers and passengers alike. We are out today to demonstrate the electric bus technology and learn how far we can push them. We are committed to running all our Brighton & Hove bus services with electric buses by the end of the year to tackle the terrible air quality issues in the city, and are calling on members of the public to get involved”

Tom Druitt, Founder

The Big Lemon Community Interest Company was founded in 2007 following a conversation between childhood friends Tom Druitt and Graeme Simpson about how the corporate bus operators were failing communities.

Tom and Graeme thought there must be a better way, and Tom organised a public meeting in Brighton to explore alternatives which would be more community focussed and offer more affordable, more sustainable travel choices.

Our mission is to enable everyone to get around their community in an affordable, enjoyable and environmentally-sustainable way.

As a Community Interest Company, we are owned by members of the local community and our assets belong to the community in the same way as those of a charity.

Our first service was the 42X between Falmer and Brighton Station, using three buses running on recycled waste cooking oil from local restaurants.  Our depot was the corner of a lorry park in Southwick and our office was Tom’s kitchen table.

Our service quickly became popular with passengers, and our drivers soon gained a reputation for giving a friendly, personal service.  Over the next few years we increased our services, moved to a proper depot near Brighton Marina and started offering coach hire, music festival transport, waste cooking oil collection and a programme of Sunday Walks.

Since our launch in 2007 over four million passenger journeys have been made on The Big Lemon.  We have driven over 2 million miles, putting over a thousand tonnes of waste cooking oil to good use, and saving over 1800 tonnes of CO2 emissions in the process.

Over the last two years we have been working on a project to turn our buses electric.  The environmental benefits of using biodiesel from waste cooking oil are huge, with an average 86% reduction in CO2 emissions.  However there are still tailpipe emissions, and these do of course contribute to poor air quality in urban areas.

The quality of the air we breathe  in Britain’s towns and cities is a national scandal.  A report by the Royal College of Physicians in 2017 assessed particulate levels in 51 UK towns and cities and found 44 of them, including Brighton & Hove, had air which the World Health Organisation considers “too dangerous to breathe”.

According to Brighton & Hove City Council’s Air Quality Action Plan (October 2015) air pollution is linked to 175 premature deaths in the city every year.

The Big Lemon believes buses have a big role to play in solving the UK’s air quality crisis and in 2016 we launched a campaign to go electric.  We raised £250,000 through a community bond issue, bought two mid-life diesel buses and converted them to electric.

With the help of the M&S Community Energy Fund, 172 crowdfunding supporters and over 1500 voters, we also raised enough money for a 21kW solar array on our depot roof, enough to power our offices and workshops and the two electric buses.

The first one launched last April, with the second one joined it in July.  Both buses have proved a hit with passengers and drivers alike, offering a much quieter, smoother, more comfortable ride.

Last autumn The Big Lemon won contracts for additional local bus services, so we now operate routes 16, 47, 52, 56, 57 and 66, serving the communities of Portslade, Hangleton, Patcham, Hollingbury, Woodingdean, Ovingdean, Rottingdean and Saltdean.

These services provide connections to Seven Dials, Brighton Station and the city centre, London Road, Fiveways, Kemptown, the Hospital and Brighton Marina.

Our goal is to run all of these services with electric buses, which means we need at least four more.  Now we have tried the technology and know it works, the next challenge is to raise the money required for the vehicles.

In total, the funding required for four electric buses is just over a million pounds.  However we have been very lucky with our efforts to raise funding for the vehicles, with Brighton & Hove City Council committing £114,000 from their Clean Bus Fund for another electric bus conversion, and the Department for Transport committing £513,000 towards the purchase of three brand new electric buses.

To take advantage of these funds we have to raise the remaining £405,000.

What do we need to get four more electric buses?

Where is the money coming from?

In order to do this we have launched a three year bond at 4%, and a five year bond at 5%. The minimum investment is £100, and interest will be paid annually.  The buses will be offered as security on all investments.

We have a strong team of committed people led by Founder and Chief Executive Tom Druitt and supported by an active Board of Directors with over 70 years of business experience between them.  Our day-to-day operations are led by our Management Team, committed to The Big Lemon’s values of community, sustainability, and empowerment, and many of whom have been with the Company since the very early days.  And our services are provided by an engaged and committed team of the best of Brighton & Hove’s bus and coach drivers.

The Big Lemon is accredited with international quality standard ISO9001, and sustainability standard ISO14001. We are a Living Wage employer, and have won a number of accolades in recent years including the Green Business Award and Award for Innovation at the 2016 Brighton & Hove Independent Business Awards, the Best Place to Work, Best Green Business and Business of the Year at the Brighton & Hove Business Awards 2016, Environmental Social Enterprise of the Year at the UK Social Enterprise Awards 2016 and Most Sustainable Business at the Sussex Business Awards 2017.

Will you help us make Brighton & Hove a healthier place to live?

Across the UK, air pollution and congestion blights our cities, communities are losing their bus services, and climate change is beginning to be felt all around us.  Big business has failed to address the challenges we face, and it is up to us to make a difference through the work we do in our communities.

We have a huge opportunity. With the Clean Bus Fund and the Low Emission Bus Scheme we have more than half the funds we need to bring four more zero-emissions electric buses to the streets of Brighton & Hove. With lower running costs than diesel buses, these buses will help us make those services that people rely on in our outlying communities more viable, so they can be maintained long into the future.  With the experience we gain, we can help other communities safeguard and develop their own sustainable transport.  But we can only take advantage of this funding and make these things happen with your help!

Many thanks for your support

Tom Druitt FRSA

Founder and Chief Executive

For a Solar Bus Bond Prospectus please click on the image below:

All investments are covered by our Solar Bus Bond Agreements:

• Three Year Bond Agreement
• Five Year Bond Agreement

If you’d like to invest in our Solar Bus Bonds please complete the fields below:

Upon receipt of your application we will send you an invoice for the funds with details of how to transfer the funds.

Upon receipt of your funds we will issue a bond certificate within 14 days. Your bond certificate will be dated the date of receipt of your funds and your investment will be returned to you with interest at the end of the term.

We reserve the right to refuse investments and we do not need to give a reason. The Big Lemon does not give financial advice and you are advised to seek independent financial advice on your investments.

This Solar Bus Bond issue falls outside the scope of regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority and is not covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS).

The Big Lemon CIC is Registered in England & Wales, Number 06045786
Registered Office: Protran House, Boundary Road, Brighton BN2 5TJ
Telephone: 01273 681681