First birthday celebrations will take place at the Isle of Wight Steam Railway in Havenstreet on Saturday 8th September, as part of the UK-wide Heritage Open Weekend, alongside vintage buses from the Isle of Wight Bus Museum and the Model Railway Exhibition.
The Community Bus Service operates as part of the Isle of Wight Community Bus Partnership in conjunction with Southern Vectis and the Isle of Wight Council. The buses are driven by trained volunteers along routes not served by commercial services, using buses provided by Southern Vectis which would otherwise stand idle between the morning and afternoon school runs.
4,000+ passengers in a year
Over 4,000 passengers travelled on the number 34, Havenstreet and Wootton Bridge service since it began operating, which invites donations from passengers and sponsors to help cover the cost of this valuable service including timetable printing etc.
Chairman of the Havenstreet and Wootton Bridge Community Bus Joint Management Board, Steve Porter highlights the importance of the scheme, “for some people in the villages, the community bus provides a link to the outside world.
“The drivers have been told by passengers how important the bus is to them and how they don’t know how they managed without it.”
Image: © WoottonBridge.org.uk
