People across the Isle of Wight saved an extra 2,200 car miles by leaving their own vehicles at home and travelling by bus on Clean Air Day, according Southern Vectis.
The local bus operator marked the day by offering heavily discounted travel – encouraging people to opt for sustainable transport on the island.
The news comes ahead of Catch the Bus Week, which runs from 1st July to 7th July.
Nikki Honer, Head of Communications for Southern Vectis, says:
“People were able to travel on any of our services for the whole of Clean Air day for less than it costs to park for an hour in many of the island’s car parks.
“Southern Vectis is committed to helping improve the quality of air we breathe on the Isle of Wight, and we have been working on this in a number of ways – including investing in a new fleet of greener vehicles over recent years.
“A double decker bus has the potential to take up to 75 cars off the road, and we asked those who didn’t usually travel by bus to drop us a line on our website, telling us how many miles they would drive if they were using their cars. In return, we offered a special discount code to take the bus instead. We’re delighted that 2,200 car miles were saved that day.
“Following on from this success, Monday 1 July to Sunday 7 July is Catch the Bus Week. To mark this, we’re offering competitions via social media, so existing customers can take their friends or family out with group tickets. The aim is for people to choose greener journeys. We’re looking forward to welcoming even more passengers onto Southern Vectis buses during that week.”
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For more information about Catch the Bus Week and Southern Vectis, visit islandbuses.info.
Fare reductions would save a lot more
Newport to Yarmouth, bus fare £4.50 one way. For my wife and I total cost would be £18.00. Jump in the car and park all day in Yarmouth cost £6.50 all this equals “green Island” B.S. Shame we can’t be like Londoners, Welsh, Scots or Irish and get bus passes at 60 yrs old
These big busses are way too big for the Island, especially round small villages and narrow roads. They are not economical as most times there only a handful of people using them (Excluding peak times when workers use them) Southern Vectis need to rethink their strategy and move to smaller buses for more economy and less running costs. I approve of the efforts to make the Island more green but big busses do not make a difference to carbon footprint or saving money. I try to get a full car when travelling so as to cut down on emissions.