Southern Vectis

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The Southern Vectis logo.
The Southern Vectis logo.

Southern Vectis Omnibus Co. (Part of Southern Vectis PLC) is the dominant bus operator on the Isle of Wight, it also spawned off and formed the Eastleigh and Southampton bus company Solent Blue Line. The company's tag-line is "The Island's Buses". It is now owned by Go-Ahead Group.

Contents

[edit] History

The company was formed in 1929 when the Southern Railway united with the Vectis Bus Company to form the Southern Vectis Omnibus Co. In 1986 it was purchased by its management and since that time has become the almost exclusive supplier of timetabled bus services on the Isle of Wight. In 2005 it was acquired along with Solent Blue Line by the Go-Ahead Group bus and rail company. Since late 2005, the company has had a board of directors common to Solent Blue Line, and Go-Ahead's Wilts and Dorset operations. In late January 2007, the company announced an order for 7, Euro 5-engined Mercedes-Benz Citaros, to upgrade and increase the frequency of route 9; the investment is worth £1 million[1]. These types of buses are widely used within the Go-Ahead Group, with Go North East, Oxford Bus Company, Solent Blue Line and Wilts & Dorset operating the type.

Southern Vectis 710, TIL 6710, Orchard Bay, a Leyland Olympian, at the 2007 Cobham bus rally, in the new livery
Southern Vectis 710, TIL 6710, Orchard Bay, a Leyland Olympian, at the 2007 Cobham bus rally, in the new livery
Southern Vectis 246, P246 VDL, Black Rock Ledge, an Iveco minibus, at the 2007 Cobham bus rally, also in the new livery
Southern Vectis 246, P246 VDL, Black Rock Ledge, an Iveco minibus, at the 2007 Cobham bus rally, also in the new livery

[edit] Current operations

[edit] Regular routes

The main network (as of 1 January 2007) is as follows:

[edit] Open-Top Buses

In addition to the regular routes above, SVOC run 3 Open-Top bus routes during the Summer timetable, usually from early April until September/October. All these routes are circular, operating in the directions stated below only. These routes previously had route numbers but these were removed with the addition of electronic destination displays - with the number not on the database. These lead to some confusion to passengers, as some bus stops only display the number

The Needles Tour: Yarmouth - Freshwater Bay - Alum Bay - The Needles - Alum Bay - Yarmouth.

The Sandown Bay Tour: Sandown Pier - Dinosaur Isle - Sandown Town centre - Lake - Shanklin Town - Esplanade - Old Village - Shanklin Town - Lake - Sandown.

The Downs Tour: Ryde - Arreton - Newchurch - Ashey - Ryde

The Medina Tour: Newport Bus Station - Carisbrooke Castle - Newport High Street - Whippingham Church - East Cowes Red Funnel Ferry - Osborne House - Wootton, Isle of Wight Steam Railway Station - Robin Hill (adventure park) - Newport Bus Station

[edit] Naming Buses

Since 2006, vehicles being repainted have been named after geographical features of the island. Most are coastal locations.

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://www.islandbuses.info/news/news001.html

[edit] See also

Bus operators owned by Go-Ahead
Brighton & Hove | Diamond | Docklands Buses | Go North East | Go West Midlands | London Central
London General | Metrobus | Oxford Bus Company | Solent Blue Line | Southern Vectis | Wilts and Dorset
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