Southern Vectis will get more than £4.5million from the Isle of Wight Council because the bus operator is still affected by the long-term impact of Covid-19 alongside recent economic pressures with the West Wight’s FYT bus and Ventnor’s Service 31 also to receive financial support.
Last year, the Isle of Wight Council subsidised Southern Vectis by £4.6 million and leading Isle of Wight Council cabinet members agreed this year’s pay-out on Thursday (8th June), in line with the Department for Transport’s alternative Covid-19 recovery strategy. Bus passenger numbers are increasing but still aren’t up to pre-pandemic levels, the authority says.
It is hoped the cash will negate any significant detrimental knock-on effects on Isle of Wight bus services. The council says Southern Vectis is currently operating close to levels it did in 2019 and above in the Summer tourist season.
The number of passengers, however, is only back to 85-90% of pre-pandemic levels and only 80-82% of concessionary passengers have returned, although numbers have increased year on year.
Speaking last Thursday, Colin Rowland, the Council’s neighbourhoods director, said the money was the authority’s way of continuing to support vital bus routes in rural areas.
The amount of concessionary fares to be reimbursed by the IW Council is based on how many buses a company runs.
Based on 2019-20 passenger levels, and more than 3 million people paying a concessionary fare, the Isle of Wight Council will pay £4,691,602.09 to Southern Vectis, split into monthly increments, until March 2024.
In the coming year, Mr Rowland said the Council will carry out a review and will consider using actual passenger numbers when calculating future subsidies.
Make EVERYONE pay then it makes the price cheaper for all, and up’s passenger numbers.
Too many get things totally FREE thus adding the cost onto other paying passengers which then stops them travelling as much.
Parents are well paid with tax credits or u/c and pensioners have less expenses than most so both groups could afford to pay, yet both whinge the most, so the squeaky wheel gets the most oil, and they know how to squeak.
You’re talking absolute hogwash. As a worker who gets UC, amongst other “handouts”, I can tell you we don’t get free OR subsidised bus travel, indeed Southern Vectis is normally prohibitively expensive to take my family out on the buses for the day. Sounds like the only squeaking here is coming from a leaky brain.
Privatise the profits and socialise the losses. If we’re going to pay taxes for it we may as well get some of the future earnings.
Leftist! Southern Vectis work hard for there profit! I bet you vote labour.
Government subsidising businesses seems pretty lefty, I’m assuming you worked hard for the council tax you paid.
You just hate capitalism! We voted for this!
Once again the taxpayer is footing the bill for Privatisation.
We are effectively paying for shareholder dividends whilst getting a poor service.
We need to renationalise public utilities and public transport and subsidise if we need to.
It will be cheaper in the long run, as we are subsidising Private companies already.
There was no alternative to privatisation! Thatcher did good. Workers were striking and demanding rights. She showed them there place! Haha
So they get a big pay out and we get a council tax rise perfect
Southern vectis is a private company and should not be getting payouts from public money that is our money and we should say how it is used not the council and with southern vectis extortionate prices they don’t need a pay out they are making profits and then some maybe if they dropped their prices to a reasonable amount and ran a reliable service and stopped cutting rural bus routes they would still be making a profit and then some more people might be inclined to use the buses oh and teach their useless damn driver’s how to drive and which side of the road to drive on its the left hand side not down the centre lines half the vehicle on each lane the damn left there is no god damn reason or excuse for a bus doing this EVERRRRRRR
Southern Vectis are a private operator. If they don’t get subsidies then they will only run the services that are directly profitable.
Basically only running services that will see busses at or near capacity. This would probably mean only running between the main towns and only when there are sufficient passengers to guarantee a profit.
All of the routes are profitable, even the 6 and they refuse to pay the drivers…
May I introduce you to punctuation?
Wonder who in the council is getting the brown envelope for that. The council are a total bunch of crooks.
If they want a massive handout from what is essentially taxpayers money, they should be forced to introduce return fares. Now they have this cash just watch the fares increase to a ridiculous amount once the £2 deal runs out.
9 million in two years, because of covid!!
I wonder how many small / local businesses went under because of covid, and got no help from the council at all.
I understand the reasons but not the logic with the bailout with all the handouts still available central gov and help with the £2 fares.. but the Festival shuttle bus at the price set”To cover the cost of extra buses and the 70 something crew required to run them?” Surely that should be a festival cost…… And the increased fares will just drive more people on to the regular service anyway….
So win win for the company and disruption for the locals…
How much money does the Festival generate…well let’s see some……
Meanwhile, Mr Southern Vectis is feet up in the Maldives sipping a dry martini. Council tax will rise by 10% next year. One thing you can be sure of for certain is that we’ll all be asked to pay for this bull*hit.
Our business hasn’t recovered from Covid-19, can we have an Isle of Wight Council subsidy please?
What about lowering our excessive Council Tax bills.
Sorry but **** Southern Vectis
Very odd this council, few months back telling us they have to increase c/tax and cut services, then spend £11,000000 on Ryde Esplanade that only benefits Southern Vectis,then tell us we have 35% child poverty, schools will have to close etc yet in 2yrs they have given £9,000000 to Southern Vectis to increase profits for shareholders.
Why did Council give up it’s own busses. Council could run school buses and then use those busses out of school hours.
Smell of corruption here. Why do Southern Vectis run some route’s every 15min/30mins if not profitable?.
About time there was some competition.
I hope when they make a profit they (southern vectis) pay us, the tax payer back
the bus operator is still affected by the long-term impact of COVID-19 and to still get £4.5 million of tax payers money are you s**ting me after 3 years and the fact the only ater public transport on the Isle is the 8 1/2 mile train service, something doesn’t add up just like there books.
Not so cash strapped then as they bullshit us they are then. Strange how the situation changes depending on the project. They have blown millions of our money for their own gain, but there is never any money for those who are paying them it
Hmmm. Wonder how the brown envelope will be split this time!