Buses will start running later in rural parts of the Isle of Wight from tomorrow (Sunday), as extra services are added by operator Southern Vectis thanks to cash from central government.
As previously reported by Island Echo, there will be a number of adjustments to the Southern Vectis network timetable from Sunday (1st October)- but it has now been announced that the Isle of Wight Council is funding the change using cash from the Department for Transport.
Routes 6 and 12 will now finish around 5 hours later, on weekdays and Saturdays. Currently, the final number 6 service from Newport to Ventnor, via Chillerton, Chale, Niton and Whitwell, leaves just before 18:00.
The latest Route 12, from Newport to Alum Bay, via Shorwell, Brighstone, Mottistone, Freshwater Bay and Totland, leaves at 17:40.
Moving forward, there will be a number of extra trips across the evening, with the latest Route 6 leaving Newport at 22:45 and the last Route 12 at 23:10.
At their meeting on Monday (25th September), Niton and Whitwell Parish Council said residents could now have a reasonable night without rushing for an early bus, and young people staying out late could rely on public transport to get home.
Councillor Claire Critchison who represents Chale, Niton and Shorwell, had been campaigning for later buses to help reduce the isolation felt by villagers unable to stay out later in Newport.
Niton and Whitwell Parish Council has thanked Cllr Critchison, who said funding has been secured for a year. She said Islanders should use the later buses to prove the demand is there.
The money does not come from ‘the government’ because the government doesn’t have any money, it takes that money from the pockets of taxpayers, so we are paying for these extra services, not ‘the government’
The government doesn’t have a bank account like you or I. That’s how the Tories tripped the national debt after Labour left us the “no money left” note.
We paid far lower taxes when service was much better.
Now we pay highest taxes ever and have worse service.
Tories are just mismanaging OUR money (not to mention cost of Brexit), throw us scraps and pit against each other because “oh no, those extra service are from my taxes!” to get popular support to make scraps even thinner.
Still waiting for that £300m/week for NHS. That would be about +£800,000/mo for our St Mary’s.
Pity the people living on bus routes who have their house shake when the buses go past when they are trying to sleep.
While this is obviously a step in the right direction, hopefully further funds will become available from ‘central government’ so that the villages that have lost their services in recent years can have them reinstated.
Well, there is an election coming.
Privatisation is the most efficient way to run public transport, why should the government get involved to restore old routes?
Define efficiency.
If you think just about breaking even… sure, after all they don’t care about citizens, just money.
If you think about mobility of the nation – not so much.
I take you’re satisfied with ferry prices?
Why? Perhaps because we are paying highest taxes ever and it’d be nice to have the most basic public transport link in the 21st century?
Seriously, we pay super high taxes (20, 40, 60 and 45%!) and get so little in return. Demand what’s yours! A freaking bus in 2023 is not some technological marvel.
And maybe proper bus stops while we’re at it – somehow even small Romanian villages can have nice protected huts, ffs. I can’t believe people just casually accept UK to lag so much behind developing countries.
“privatisation is the most efficieint way …” – ah, yes, like railways and water and electricity and telecomms and very soon health.
Public services don’t need to be efficient, they need to be effective, that is, do what the public needs.
Privatisation is simply an efficient way to syphon the public’s money into private pockets.
But Margret said there wan no alternative. She’s a True Tory. Tories never lie!
If you let private companies run the service without government regulation or financial assistance, the only services will be on the very busiest routes, and at the very busiest times, probably limited to just the rush hour. Is that the kind of service you want?
Yea all well and good till bus fares go up again and less people use them as too expensive
Waste of money.
From 1st October services should be reduced due to the holiday season being over.
Large empty buses damaging the climate with NO passengers onboard.