Major improvements to the Island’s bus services look likely to be shelved after the Isle of Wight Council missed out on government funding.
As part of a multi-billion pound ‘Bus Back Better’ scheme, local authorities had been asked to create a partnership with bus operators in a bid to improve services outside of London and get more people using public transport.
Through a £100,000 Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP), the Isle of Wight Council and Southern Vectis put forward ideas which would make the public transport offer better, including more routes and an increased timetable.
Southern Vectis had created a 116-point wishlist of the things it would like to do to improve service on the Island. Bigger improvements included the creation of bus lanes or specific routes around the Island, including around Coppins Bridge and a Fairlee Bus Transit Route, on the former railway line to avoid the congestion on Fairlee Road.
The BSIP also included smaller plans such as installing electronic timetables and more lighting at bus stops.
Now it has been announced the partnership was unsuccessful in its funding bid.
Speaking at the Isle of Wight Council’s neighbourhoods and regeneration scrutiny committee last week, Councillor Phil Jordan, cabinet member for transport, said the partnership’s aspirations would now change as the lack of funding would impact what can be brought forward.
After the meeting, though, Cllr Jordan said the partnership was still committed to the BSIP and partnership with Southern Vectis, but how the aspirations are delivered remained to be seen. He said the little things like bus shelter improvements were still part of the aspirations.
Other work has not been entirely ruled out, though, as the council drafts its latest Local Transport Plan (LTP) which would be the authority’s main transport policy between 2023 and 2038. One of the items included in the LTP would be the council’s carbon net-zero target — this includes moving people out of cars and onto public transport.
Cllr Jordan said to encourage that though the Island needed good public transport, so that could mean improvements such as how buses are powered.
With a 116 point wish list it was hardly a well focussed submission. A few achievable plans would have had a far more favourable impact on the awarding authority than a submission with as many pages a a copy of War and Peace.
Southern Vectis makes tons of money, they shouldn’t be taking hand outs from the government!
Oh thank god for that, they would have screwed everything right up again, just like st Mary’s improvements that really made things much worse. Imagine bus lanes around coppins….. The stuff of nightmares.
Not saying all the ideas were bad, they just have some wildly stupid ones too.
Problem I find with buses, in my case, they do not get very close to where I live. I am disabled, have a problem walking distance, hills, uneven ground etc etc. I live near Haylands. Limited bus service if live close to the route. Which I do not. So I HAVE to use a car. There are many people with the same problem, even if fit. Other problem is many times buses do not meet up. So left waiting… and waiting… So people will always use a car..
Boris….buses….funding. Quelle surprise!
Hardly surprising. The Government in power never does anything to help safe seats.
Southern Vectis is a privately owned company operating solely for profit, yet they expect to be subsidised by us to improve services?
This is what’s wrong with privatisation of utilities and services.
Utility and service owners have us over a barrel because we have to bail them out when they underfund due to making excessive profits and paying shareholder dividends.
Renationalisation is the answer.
This was always going to be an issue with privatisation / deregulation and people were warned about this when Thatcher et-al went hell bent on selling off our essential services for a fast buck.
Unlike train operating companies where franchises come up for bidding every few years and the Government can snatch back a franchise into public ownership if the bids fail (e.g Southeastern). Southern Vectis (also Wightlink and Red Funnel) are fully owned by their shareholders. If the Government or Council want to take them into public ownership they have to buy a controlling stake at market rates.
Which is unaffordable.
Southern Vectis, one of the UK created oligarchs. A big business getting government money. Putin learned all his ways from us. Time to nationalise the busses. And in a way that these business loose out, they have had their pound of flesh from the people. Public transport should be free for all. End off.
I still wouldn’t use a bus. Too slow too dirty too expensive and the driver’s are grumpy and ignorant
And you are the epitome of writing total rollocks!
Can anyone tell me if Southern Vectis have any serious competitors on the island, I personally don’t know of any, so if that’s the case they have a monopoly to do what they want at our cost less services, covering less hours, there is no way I’m going to give up my car unless there is an adequate service that takes me where I need at a cost I can afford
Southern Vectis have no competitors at all on the island-they enjoy a total monopoly here.
wikipedia…
As a result of deregulation in 1986, several competitors started and others increased existing services. These competitors included Gange’s Minicoaches, Grand Hotel Tours, Island Travel (Cooke’s Coaches of Porchfield), Moss Motor Tours, Seaview Services’ RedLynx and Wiltax of Shanklin.[1][13] Island Travel and Gange’s Minicoaches established routes between Cowes and Ryde.[1]
The newly privatised Southern Vectis responded with a number of new business practices. These practices raised the interest of the Office of Fair Trading who, in 1987, investigated the company and found their behaviour to be anti-competitive.[1][14]
Duplication
It was alleged that Southern Vectis was engaged in “duplication”, running buses immediately ahead of competitors’ where routes coincided, and having their drivers lie in wait for competitors’ vehicles in order to beat them to waiting passengers.[15] In 1991, duplication tactics were seen again when Southern Vectis shadowed an Isle of Wight County Council contracted bus run by Norman Baker Taxis.[14]
wikipedia…
Bus station use
Competitors using stops outside the Newport bus station
In 1986, Southern Vectis acquired Newport bus station as part of their privatisation and refused competitors access to it.[16] The Office of Fair Trading report, published in 1988, found Southern Vectis’ behaviour to be anti-competitive. Southern Vectis was told to either allow competitors to use the bus station or appear before the Competition Commission. Gange’s Minicoaches, the plaintiff, was offered use of “Stand F” in Ryde bus station, and was also offered a stand in the Newport bus station. However, Gange’s did not find the charges set for either station agreeable, and continued to operate from the opposite side of Ryde bus station on council land and the South Street bus stop in Newport, until their service discontinued.
Good! The council’s plans would have created havoc to traffic flows. At least the council have now admitted however that they are solely interested in taking away our right to choose to drive, by publicly stating that they want to force us out of cars and on to buses. Before long they will be telling us how we must dress, what haircut we must have and, of course, to crawl on our bellies in the presence of a councillor.
Maybe get funding to reduce fare price the maybe people would use public transport as it the only way to save the planet electric cars are not the answer better public transport is
What is needed on the island is competition southern vectis has the Isle of Wight council over a barrel they charge what they like just look at the bus fares on the mainland. They take off routes and services and nothing can be done about it