ISLE OF WIGHT BUSES: THE BUSTLING ISLE OF WIGHT BUS STATIONS OF YESTERYEAR

Do you remember the bus stations at Newport, Ryde, Shanklin and Ventnor before their redevelopment? All are but a shadow of their former selves: Newport and Ryde are now soulless transport interchanges, and the bus stations at Shanklin and Ventnor are no more. However, in their heyday – in the 50s and 60s – the bus stations were the lively, bustling hearts of Isle of Wight towns. This was the era in which the railways largely closed and not everyone had access to a car. 1956 – the year the Newport to Sandown railway was discontinued – marked the zenith of bus travel on the Island. That year, Southern Vectis carried a total of 21,885,039 passengers in a fleet of 200 vehicles, which ran a total of 4,820,459 miles.

Shanklin Bus Station

What is now described as ‘Shanklin Bus Station’ is no more than 3 bus stops outside the Co-op. But for 28 years – between 1956 and 1984 – a pukka bus station functioned on the site of the present-day supermarket. Southern Vectis originally operated from Clarendon Road from the 1920s. However, the local council complained about the congestion the buses caused. In July 1937, Southern Vectis acquired H G Eames’ motor coach business on Carter Avenue, building a modern bus garage capable of housing 50 vehicles. Opening in June 1939, the building included a booking and enquiry hall, accommodation for a manager and cashier, and a parcels counter. However, on 3rd January 1943, a German air raid caused the roof to be blown off the garage, killing a conductor.

Shanklin UDC pressed for the bus terminus to be moved to Landguard Road on the bomb site of the former Gloster Hotel. The new bus station – built at a cost of £20,000 (over £400,000 in today’s values) – was opened on 11th June 1956. It included newsagents and tobacconists, a tea bar, an inspector’s office, a waiting room, 3 parallel loading bays, and a public address system. The bus station was then described as ‘among the most modern of its kind in the country’. In 1983, Southern Vectis made a loss of £163,000. The company decided to cut operating costs, and the bus station in Shanklin was 1 of the casualties of rationalisation. It closed in the Winter of 1984. The site was sold to International Stores before becoming Somerfields and now Co-op.

Newport Bus Station

The current Orchard Street Bus Station has only been in existence since its completion in 2006. Between 1962 and 2005, a far larger bus station existed in its place, which faced directly onto South Street. Before the early 60s, buses were obliged to arrive and depart from a very crowded St James’ Square.

The 1962 South Street Bus Station had 12 stands (the present-day bus station has just 5). 24 buses could be parked on the lay-by. The completed structure included a booking and enquiry office, shops, buffet, staff rest room, waiting room, and office block. It was opened on 18th May 1962. It had been constructed at a cost of £100,000 (nearly £1.8million in today’s values). The 1st bus (a new Lodekka) left at 12:04 – the  Route 1 service to Ryde, as was.

Former bus users fondly remember the cafe, the range of little shops, and the luminous orange skylights. Perhaps less fondly remembered is the fact that smoking was allowed all over the bus station in the 60s, whereas currently it is forbidden (in theory).

Ryde Bus Station

Ryde Bus Station – next to Ryde Esplanade Railway Station – opened on 25th May 1974. Before then, the Esplanade was served with windswept wooden shelters. The ’74 Bus Station was provided with a large travel office, restroom, and offices for depot superintendent and inspectors. There were 8 loading stands, and 12 spare buses could be parked in the lay-by.

Sadly, the bus station closed in September 2022, to be replaced by Ryde Transport Interchange last year. Bus users are now in the same situation as they were before the 1974 Bus Station was built: waiting in a series of cheap bus shelters along the Esplanade. Happily, the previous signage has been donated to Wight Bus Museum.

Ventnor Bus Station

Ventnor was the final significant Isle of Wight bus station to be built, opening in the summer of 1974. It was situated on Albert Street next to the former Coconut Grove (which had been the Town Hall) and consisted of just 4 stands and was built on a former bomb site. It closed in May 1992.

Today, the site of the former bus station is occupied by a residential building, and bus users have to choose between the bus stop on Albert Road and the one outside Boots. There was also a former bus depot on Pier Street in Ventnor, which closed in 2006 and has planning permission for 2 retail units and 10 flats. It was auctioned in February 2021, with a guide price of between £440,000 and £480,000.

Yarmouth is also said to have a ‘bus station’. But do 2 bus stops count? Mysteriously, the bus stop at Wellow is also described by Southern Vectis as ‘Wellow Bus Station’. What are your memories of the Isle of Wight bus stations that once were? How would you compare the old with the new? In the next edition of Isle of Wight buses, we shall examine the many former bus routes that are no longer with us.