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Southern Vectis

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Southern Vectis
File:Sv logo.PNG
Founded1929
HeadquartersNewport
Service areaIsle of Wight
Service typeRural and Urban bus services
DestinationsEverywhere on the Isle of Wight
Fleet103 vehicles in total
OperatorGo-Ahead Group
Chief executiveMarc Morgan Huws
Websitewww.islandbuses.info

Southern Vectis Omnibus Co. is the dominant bus operator on the Isle of Wight. It later spawned off and formed the Eastleigh and Southampton bus company Solent Blue Line. It was purcashed by the Go-Ahead Group in in 2005. It currently employs 309 staff, with a fleet size of 93,[1] including single and double deck buses, as well as open top buses. Southern Vectis has two bus depots on the island, at Newport and Ryde, the two largest island towns.

April 2006 saw a massive change for the bus company, with a new simplified network and timetable, as well as a new livery of two shades of green. Subsidised fares were also introduced to encourage more people to use the buses. In May 2006, Southern Vectis reported a 16% rise in passenger numbers from May 2005.[2]

The company runs an extensive network with a total of 21 regular routes, covering most areas of the Island. Most Island towns receive a 24-hour service, linking to Newport. School services are in places, taking students to and from schools on designated routes, however most school services are covered by Wightbus. Timetables are updated twice a year, although this has been more regularly on some occasions, with a winter and a summer timetable. The summer timetable also includes open top tour routes and road trains to cater for the many tourists visiting the island.

History

File:Lauch of 455.jpg
The public launch of a Citaro in Newport in June 2007. The marching band can be seen playing.

The company was formed in 1929 when the Southern Railway united with the Vectis Bus Company to form the Southern Vectis Omnibus Co. In 1986 it was purchased by its management and since that time has become the almost exclusive supplier of timetabled bus services on the Isle of Wight. In July 2005 it was acquired along with Solent Blue Line by the Go-Ahead Group bus and rail company.

Since late 2005, the company has had a board of directors common to Solent Blue Line, and Go-Ahead's Wilts and Dorset operations, as part of the Go South Coast division. In January 2007, the company ordered 7, Euro 5-engined Mercedes-Benz Citaros, to upgrade and increase the frequency of route 9. The investment was worth £1 million.[3] These types of buses are widely used within the Go-Ahead Group, with Go North East, Oxford Bus Company, Solent Blue Line and Wilts & Dorset all operating the type. Each of the new Citaros have a phrase on the back windscreen such as 'Buses are so cool' to advertise the air conditioning for a more comfortable journey, or 'No smoking, outside too' to show the vehicles' low carbon emissions. With the total size of the buses at 12 metres (39 ft),[4] they will be the first full size single deck buses to be bought by the company since 1976.[5] Southern Vectis was one of the first bus companies in the UK to purchase Euro V engines, which is the greenest engine standard available. This is set for implementation across the UK by 2009.[6]

Today

After the timetable change by Southern Vectis on 30 September 2007, for the first time ever on the Island, 24-hour buses were being run to most island towns every night of the week on an hourly and half hourly basis. This highlights an increased demand for buses on the island as for the first time this kind of service had become viable. Previously night buses had been run, but only limited routes on Friday and Saturday nights.

Since April 2006, a passenger boom has seen passenger numbers grow by 45%, one of the highest in the UK. This has led to a 60% increase in the level of bus services across the island. This huge increase in passenger numbers has led to 24-hour bus services going to most island towns. The boom has resulted in an increase in jobs from summer 2005 having a total of 126 drivers to 219 in summer 2007. Southern Vectis drivers now cover more than 78,000 miles per week collectively compared to 55,000 previously.[7] However, following a dispute over pay, which almost led to a week long strike, it was claimed that on some occasions drivers could spend up to five and a half hours behind the wheel without a break,[8] although this is the legal limit.

Future

Southern Vectis plans to continue improving its services through its improvements programme to ensure a good bus service across the island. Future plans include the re-development of Ryde bus station with a new interchange. This has partly been decided to give passengers a comfortable place to wait for a bus, but also to act as a gateway for tourists visiting the island as they travel from the fast cat operating nearby. The re-development will see improvements in access to hovercraft and rail services as well.[9] In December 2007, Southern Vectis moved all of the staff facilities and passenger information out of the station to the nearby Esplanade. This is where the buses will stop while the interchange is being rebuilt, but at the moment due to planning issues the buses are still using the station. 17 new Scania OmniCity double deckers are due for delivery in May 2008, to replace buses on routes 2 and 3, with 11 more due in December. It also plans to increase fares again in the coming months, thus retaining it's world title of 'Most Expensive Bus Service'.

Current operations

Standard services

Southern Vectis currently operate 21 standard bus services, serving most places on the Island at varying frequencies. The most frequent is route 1, running every 6 minutes and charging the passenger £3 for just over 3 miles Cowes - Newport; a certain hike compared to charges on various other UK bus services covering a similar distance. The most recent timetable came into operation on 16 March 2008.

24-hour Buses

From the timetable changes on 30 September 2007, buses began to run through the night to most island towns, for the first time ever.

It was decided after a passenger boom that night buses would be necessary. Services 3 and 9 both run every hour, [10] [11] while route 1 runs every 30 [12]

Due to a lack of demand during the week and on Sundays, from the timetable change on 20 April 2008, 24 hour buses will only run on Fridays and Saturdays[citation needed].

Open-top buses

File:Island Breezers logo.jpg
The Island Breezers logo.

In addition to the regular routes, Southern Vectis run 4 open-top bus routes during the summer timetable,[13] usually from early April until September/October. All of the routes are circular, operating in one the direction only.

Each route is operated under the "Island Breezers" brand, introduced in 2007 with a new orange and blue livery, replacing the old orange and yellow "open top tours" version.

Each routes is designed to serve the tourist attractions near to where the service runs. The most notable is the Needles Tour, which runs along the cliff top road (the only vehicles allowed to do so) to The Needles Old Battery.

Road Trains

File:SV Roadtrains logo.gif
The road trains logo.

In addition to the four open top services that Southern Vectis run in their summer timetable, road trains are run in three Island towns, designed for tourists visiting the Island.

  • Ryde: Linking the Esplanade with the beaches at Appley and Puckpool.
  • Shanklin: Linking the Esplanade with Queens Road, The Old Village, Town Centre and Railway Station.
  • Sandown: Linking the Pier and Esplanade with Dinosaur Isle, Isle of Wight Zoo, and the beach at Yaverland.

Island Coaster

File:Island Coaster Logo.jpg
The Island Coaster logo

Also run in the summer is the "Island Coaster" service. Introduced in 2007 also with the "X40" route number, it runs between Ryde and Alum Bay, with two journeys each way. It is aimed at tourists with the times it runs at reflecting this. To avoid residents using the service for local journeys, it runs with a premium fare of a £10 adult all-day ticket. The route serves some of the major tourist attractions, such as Freshwater Bay, Blackgang Chine, linking with the main tourist towns of Ventnor, Shanklin, Sandown and Ryde (including the attractions there). To get between Blackgang Chine and Brighstone, the service uses the Military Road, which, until the service was introduced, had previously been unserved since the 2006 network revision. The 2007 service ended on the 29 September.

The 2008 service began on the 15 March, slightly ahead of the main timetable change, with a number of amendments. The route number of "X40" was be dropped, leaving the service only with a name, similar to the open top tours, and the route no longer serves Bembridge Coast Hotel or Sandown Esplanade.

Other services

Southern Vectis also run school services, taking students to and from school together with Wightbus. These school services are available for use by the public, however they only run when the schools are open, so not during school holidays and weekends. The times are listed in the school bus timetable leaflet. However from September 2008, foreign students visiting the Island will have to be educated in bus queuing etiquette after complaints from residents about being 'pushed away' while trying to board the bus.[14] The new school bus timetable also came out on 16 March 2008 with several new routes mirroring some of the original Wightbus routes, with some controversy over this.[15]

The company takes part at many events over the year on the island, including the Isle of Wight Festival and the Bestival. When such events occur, additional buses are brought over to the island to cater – usually fellow Go-Ahead buses – for the extra visitors and to take people to and from the event. During the weekend of the Isle of Wight Festival, extra shuttle services are run from the Lymington to Yarmouth Wightlink ferry terminal, from the Southampton to East Cowes Red Funnel ferry terminal, and from the Portsmouth to Fishborne and Portsmouth to Ryde Wightlink ferry terminal and Fastcat passenger boat terminal.[16]

An Open Top Christmas Lights Tour is run by Southern Vectis during December until early January every day in the evenings (excluding 24th, 25th and 26th December). One of the company's 'Island Breezer' buses is used and takes a route across the island past the most illuminated houses. This normally includes going through towns and villages such as Brading and Newchurch.

Figures

File:UVG Dart at Cowes Pontoon 25.10.07.JPG
Passengers waiting to board Southern Vectis 810 at the Cowes Pontoon terminus of route 1
  • Passenger Journeys – 6.87m
  • Passenger vehicle km travelled – 5.92m
  • Total vehicle km travelled – 6.36m
  • Per cent of low-floor buses – 31%
  • Size of bus fleet – 93

Average age of fleet (years):

  • Southern Vectis – 9.7
  • Government Industry Target (max) – 8.0

VOSA PSV vehicle pass rate test:

  • Southern Vectis – 84.0%
  • National Average – 85.7%

Scheduled km operated buses:

  • Southern Vectis – 99.69%
  • Industry target – 99.50%

[17]

Timetables

During 1989-2002, Southern Vectis released a series of summer Timetables, one per year with a cover theme of a cartoon image of an Isle of Wight location, normally featuring a Southern Vectis bus.[18] The winter timetable booklet was normally less unusual, featuring a photograph of a bus in service on the cover. Other timetables released include just plain covers.

From in network change in April 2006 and to early 2007, Southern Vectis changed their timetables on four occasions to update their services. In later 2007, this was changed to twice per year. These were to be a winter and a summer timetable of their services. The summer timetable normally consists of seasonal services such as the X40 "Island Coaster", the Island Breezers open top tours and the Road Trains, so aren't shown in the table below.

Date started Date ended Cover photo Routes added Routes deleted
2 April 2006 30 September 2006 (originally to be 1st) Compton Bay and coastal path New Network New Network
1 October 2006 30 December 2006 Totland Bay 16, 15 19, 13, 24, 34, 35
1 January 2007 31 March 2007 Osborne House 20, 29 37
1 April 2007 29 September 2007 Freshwater Bay 20
30 September 2007 15 March 2008 Newport Town Centre 23, 27, 28, 37 12, 30, 32
16 March 2008 19 April 2008 Black & White interim copy - None 35 15, 39, 21
20 April 2008 30 August 2008 Compton Beach, with couple walking None 23, 35, 37

As well as this, routes are altered, changing the route the service takes or to increase frequency.[19]

From the second timetable of the new network (1 October 2006) onwards, Southern Vectis stopped charging for their bus timetables. This was done as an attempt to increase awareness of bus times, and then increase bus usage. Now, timetables are delivered to 93% of houses across the Isle of Wight.

Fleet

In total, the company as a fleet size of 93. Including Ancilliary and other vehichles, there are 103. Much of the fleet is in either the new two-tone green livery, or the 2005 two-tone green livery. Exceptions include some older buses, and 'Island Breezer' buses, which are mainly in the Island Breezer livery. Southern Vectis use a variety of both single and double decked buses, varying with each route.[20][21] The main types of vehicles they use include:

Bus stations

There are three bus stations on the Isle of Wight, all owned or partly owned by Southern Vectis. Newport bus station is the largest of the three, and serves as a hub of most of Southern Vectis services. It was redeveloped in 2006. Ryde bus station is located on the esplanade, and serves as a "transport interchange" connecting with ferry, rail and hovercraft serves. There are plans for this to be redeveloped also. Yarmouth is the smallest of the three, served only by route 7 and the Needles Tour in the summer. It does however contain a large amount of space for visiting tourist coaches to park in.

Subsidised fares and routes

Southern Vectis currently run an annual fares review at the turn of each year, and from 6 January 2008, all standard fares were increased by around 15 per cent, most rising by 20p per journey.[22] However the price of rover and freedom tickets was frozen to reward regular users. Southern Vectis blamed increased prices in fuel and increases in drivers wages.[23]

With the new network from April 2006, Southern Vectis amended many of their fares, making traveling on buses much easier and cheaper. Students under the age of 19, in full time education on the Isle of Wight now only have to pay 50p for a single journey anywhere, at any time.[24] These scheme can also be used on Wightbus services. It is estimated that around 1.5 million Student Rider journeys are made each year. The unprecedented success of the scheme has led to huge amounts being paid out by the Isle of Wight Council to support it. This could lead to the 50p fare doubling to £1 per single journey.[25]

Island residents over 60 years of age or anyone with a disability, can now be able to travel for free in the council area, under the Government's England-wide scheme. The introduction of subsidised fares has resulted in a significant rise passenger numbers, which has led to increased services, cheaper fares and many more drivers jobs. It is estimated that around 2.8 million subsidised journeys are made per year. From 1 April 2008, new bus passes are due to be issued England-wide, that aren't limited to the area of the local authority, meaning pass holders can travel the country free. Southern Vectis have made a number of service improvements in preparation for this, for example the Needles tour now has an extra bus rostered to the route in case of overcrowding.

However, the subsidised fares have recently been put under threat, particularly the Student Rider scheme. On the 16 November 2007, the Isle of Wight Council proposed to cut the 76 per cent it pays for each concessionary fare down to 48 per cent. It said that if the current rate continued to be paid to Southern Vectis in 2008-09, the company would be making huge profit from it. However Southern Vectis said it would leave them out of pocket by more than £1 million, and normal passenger fares could have to be risen as much as 54 per cent.[26] The cut was agreed by the Isle of Wight Council in November 2007,[27] and as a result of this, further rises to fares will take place from 1 April 2008.[28] The cost of concessionary travel in 2007 was £3 million, it is expected to rise to £5 million in 2008.

As a result of this row, Southern Vectis announced that from the new timetables on 17 March 2008 almost all evening, Sunday and night buses would be axed, and some routes significantly changed.[29] [30] More details about the service cuts emerged soon after.[31]

Awards

XEPHOS, a computerised journey planning system that Southern Vectis developed, won a national award for technical development at the Bus Industry Awards at the London Hilton. The new system is the only service that can provide customers with downloadable and printable timetables for the 12,500 services in its database and offers local and national information on thousands of journeys across the UK. It enables customers to quickly look up any of the 70,000 places currently available in the UK and gives them a list of all public transport there, or a list and distance to the nearest services.[32]

In July 2007, a poetry project, involving the printing of poems on buses and engraved poems on plaques at bus stops won the community award at the 2007 Arts and Business Awards.

Southern Vectis was also recently been shortlisted for another award in the mid-size UK bus operator of the Year category at the Route One Operator Excellence Awards held at the National Motorcycle Museum.[33]

Southern Vectis was 'Highly Commended' in the Royal Bank of Scotland's Green Business Award, however lost out on winning to AJ Wells and Sons.[34]

Names, past liveries and previous networks

Names

A Southern Vectis bus in the previous cream and mushroom livery.
File:Old SV livery on UVG Dart.jpg
The old "Oxford Blue and Stripes", or "Squiggly lines" livery on a UVG bodied Dennis Dart.

Since the new network and corresponding livery, names have been applied to most of the buses in the fleet. Before this, only two buses in the fleet had received names. Those were CDL 899 (currently fleet number 602) "The Old Girl"[35] and TDL 564K (fleet number 864 before being sold) "Shanklin's Pony"[36]. The name of "The old girl" is now official, and has been applied to the bus.

The vehicles concerned do not necessarily run to, or near, the places they are named after. Good examples are fleet numbers 639 & 641, named 'Steephill Cove' and 'Ventnor Cove' respectively; they are open-top buses, and there is no open top bus route that goes within 4 miles of either of those locations. Neither are the names completely unique, as while no bus carries exactly the same name as another, fleet number 740 is named 'Ventnor Bay', the same piece of water as 'Ventnor Cove'.

Livery

There are many different liveries that Southern Vectis buses have worn. The buses had traditionally been painted green, but from 1990, a new livery of "cream and mushroom" was introduced (pictured). Interestingly, the style of the bus stops continued to reflect this livery until the 2006 service changes. The network change around 2001/2 saw a new series of liveries introduced. Single deck buses were fairly standardised in a "Oxford Blue and Stripes" dark blue livery, sporting orange, red and yellow squiggly lines along their sides. From 2005, new Dennis Dart SLF/Plaxton Pointer single-deck buses arrived in a precursor to the current livery, with many copies of the previous company logo disintegrating into a standard green towards the rear of the bus. Most double-deck buses ran in route-specific liveries, such as "Route Rouge" (mainly red), and "Island Explorer" (pale blue). It was not unusual to see a vehicle operating the 'wrong' route. Open-top buses ran in a orange and yellow "sunburst" livery.

Since April 2006, most buses have been painted with a new livery of two shades of green. It also consists of a newly designed logo and the new slogan "The Island's Buses".[37]. There are some exceptions to this new livery. The open-top tours have a blue and orange livery, with "Island Breezers" branding. Coaches and driver training vehicles also carry a number of different liveries. Three of the UVG Darts are still in the "Oxford Blue and Stripes" livery.

Route liveries used from 2001–2006
No. Route Type of bus and assigned livery
1 Bembridge – Ryde – Newport – Cowes ( – Gurnard from 31st October 2004 until the April 2006 new network) Single deck bus route using the older dark blue with red, orange and yellow "squiggly lines" livery
2 BembridgeSandownShanklinGodshillNewportCowes Double deck route, "Route Rouge" red
2B SandownShanklinArretonNewportCowes Double deck route, "Route Rouge" red
3 VentnorWroxallGodshillNewportCowes Double deck route, "Route Rouge" red
3A VentnorWroxallGodshillMerstoneNewport Double deck route, "Route Rouge" red
3B Sandown – Arreton – Newport – Cowes Double deck route, "Route Rouge" red
4 RydeEast Cowes Single deck route, using green liveried vehicles
5 NewportEast Cowes Single deck route using green liveried vehicles
6 VentnorBlackgang ChineChillertonNewport Single and Double deck route, Double deckers usually "Island Explorer" Light blue with Needles
7/7A Circular "Island Explorer": Ryde – Brading – Sandown – Shanklin – Wroxall – Ventnor – Blackgang – Freshwater – Totland – Alum Bay – Totland – Yarmouth – Calbourne(7)/Wellow(7A) – Newport – Staplers – Ryde Double deck route, "Island Explorer" Light blue with Needles and orange writing
7B VentnorShanklinSandownBradingRyde

Staplers – Newport – Brighstone – Freshwater – Alum Bay

Double deck route, "Island Explorer" Light blue with Needles and orange writing
8 Ryde Tesco – Ryde Town – Seaview Single deck bus route using the older dark blue with red, orange and yellow "squiggly lines" livery
11 Newport – Freshwater – Totland Usually single-deck bus route
12 RydeBembridgeSandown Single and Double deck route, virtually any livery could be seen

Complicating matters, some journeys on routes such as the 3, 7B and 8, as well as entire routes in themselves, such as the 13, 22 and 24, were sub-contracted to Wightbus, who have their own, mainly white livery. The remaining routes were mainly run by single-deck buses, except for the routes in the 40-series, the open-top tours:

  • "The Downs Tour" 41, a route previously operated by Westbrook Travel as service 44, and before major changes were made to the route, as service 88.
  • "The Needles Tour" 42, whose only major changes have been the replacement of open-platformed rear-boarding vehicles with front entry enclosed ones in the late 1990s, and the changing of the route from a normal there-and-back route to a circular service in the early part of 2000.
  • "The Sandown Bay Tour" 43 which had for a year been run under Southern Vectis' trade name 'The Village Bus Company', and before that as Service 44 "Shanklin's Pony". The change in number also signalled a slight change in route, as service 44 had been a there-and-back with a small loop in Shanklin to take in the Old Village, whereas service 43 runs from Shanklin to Sandown via a different road to that on which it returns.

After the renumbering of the Downs Tour, service 44 became, a once-a-day connector route between Ryde, Brading, Yaverland and Sandown to continue at the Sandown Bay Tour. These continued until the start of the March 2008 timetable. Service 12 included an open-Top journey, renumbered 45 in 2005. Again, it continued as the Sandown Bay Tour, and was withdrawn in 2008.

Service 7B included one open-Top journey from Ryde to Totland, from where it continued as The Needles Tour. Service 7A included an open-Top journey from Yarmouth, (as the last Needles Tour of the day) to Newport. In 2006, the route was diverted to run via Calbourne and Chessell in both directions, and is now route 46. Service 47 was the other Needles Tour bus, which ran between Newport and Yarmouth via Thorness Bay Holiday Camp and Newtown, although, since 2005, it has not served Newtown itself due to a new bridge restriction. Unlike the Sandown Bay Tour connectors, these still operate.


the prices are apauling

Since the new network change, there have been a number of developments to the open-top tours, see elsewhere in this article for current services.

See also

References

  1. ^ Go-Ahead - Southern Vectis company profile
  2. ^ Percentages taken from on board bus information and news
  3. ^ Southern Vectis - "New buses for route 9"
  4. ^ Mercedes-Benz buses and coaches
  5. ^ Southern Vectis - "New buses for route 9"
  6. ^ Euro 5 emission standards
  7. ^ Isle of Wight County Press - number 6106
  8. ^ BBC News - "Island bus drivers vote to strike"
  9. ^ Isle of Wight County Press - "Whitehall Go-ahead for Interchange"
  10. ^ Southern Vectis - Route 3 Accessed 23 March 2008
  11. ^ Southern Vectis - Route 9 Accessed 23 March 2008
  12. ^ Southern Vectis - Route 1 Accessed 23 March 2008
  13. ^ Southern Vectis - Open top tours
  14. ^ Bus queuing etiquette
  15. ^ Southern Vectis buses on Wightbus routes
  16. ^ Isle of Wight Festival additional shuttle services
  17. ^ pdf - Southern Vectis Environmental and Social Report 2007
  18. ^ Isle of Wight: Bus timetable cartoons
  19. ^ Previous bus timetables used (after 2006 network change)
  20. ^ Southern Vectis bus fleet
  21. ^ Southern Vectis Fleet List - Correct to 6th Jan 2008
  22. ^ Changes to fare prices
  23. ^ Isle of Wight County Press – "Bus fares rise by up to 15 per cent"
  24. ^ Isle of Wight County Press - "Joy on the buses for students"
  25. ^ Isle of Wight County Press - "Student bus fares set to double"
  26. ^ Isle of Wight County Press - "Bus battle could mean price hike"
  27. ^ Isle of Wight County Press - "Cut in fare subsidy agreed"
  28. ^ Changes to fares
  29. ^ Isle of Wight County Press - "Weekend and night buses under threat"
  30. ^ Isle of Wight County Press - "Bus services under threat"
  31. ^ Isle of Wight County Press - "Buses slashed amid subsidies row"
  32. ^ Timetable system earns award
  33. ^ Bus firm driving towards new award
  34. ^ The Isle of Wight Chamber of Commerce, Tourism & Industry - "The voice of Island Business"
  35. ^ Bristol K/ECW (1939): CDL899/DDL50 [702-703] / [602]
  36. ^ Bristol RELL/ECW (1971): TDL563-565K [863-865]
  37. ^ Southbus.co.uk - Southern Vectis company profile

Further reading

  1. Newman, Richard (2004). Southern Vectis 1929-2004: 75 years serving the Isle of Wight. Colourprint books. ISBN 978-1-904242-24-6. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  2. Kraemer-Johnson and Bishop, Glyn and John (2006). Glory Days – Buses on the Isle of Wight. Ian Allan Publishing. ISBN 0 7110-3114-2.
  3. Booth, Gavin (2006). Bus Operators 1970: South-West and Southern England. Ian Allan Publishing. ISBN 0 7110-3034-0.
  4. Haines, John (2001). Where in the world are the Southern Vectis Buses?. G&K Publications in conjunction with DTS Publishing. ISBN 1 900515 35 0.
  5. Newman, Richard (1989). Southern Vectis: The First 60 Years. Ensign Publications. ISBN 1 85455 025 X. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)