When it was announced that the Islanders were opening up their homes to take in Ukrainian families displaced by the Russian invasion, Isle of Wight bus company, Southern Vectis, offered free 30-day travel to the women and children arriving on the Island.
News OnTheWight has been told that what was initially seen by the families as a generous gesture has turned into a ‘financial nightmare’ for many of them and their sponsors.
Has cost host family more than £300
Islanders Mo Gibson and his wife have sponsored a Ukrainian mother and child to stay with them. Back in May, both mother and child had the relevant codes needed to trigger the free 30 days of bus travel entered into the Southern Vectis App on their smartphones.
However, these codes have never worked, and resulted instead with mother and child sometimes being left stranded and costing Mo more than £300 over the last six weeks to ensure they can get to school and other essential appointments.
Product code doesn’t work
Mo explained the App launches without issue on their smart phones, but that it is the ‘product code’ to give them 30 days travel that does not work.
However, he also added that the Ukrainian mother and child living with them cannot read, write or speak any English and their phone is all in Cyrillic, rendering the App pretty much inaccessible to them.
Impossible to resolve
Many would think this is an easy problem to resolve, just get in touch with Southern Vectis and they’ll sort it. But Mo and other host families have experienced week after week of problems.
Mo has pleaded with Southern Vectis to issue Key Cards instead, which finally the mother now has so cheaper travel options can be purchased, but having followed all Southern Vectis’s instructions to get the same type of card for her eight-year-old daughter, waiting two weeks and travelling to both Southern Vectis offices in Ryde and Newport three times, it has still not been issued.
Mo added,
“The eight-year-old child has followed every instruction by Southern Vectis for five weeks now and she still has not been given her photo ID card which would allow her to have a blue plastic Southern Vectis bus card.
“She has been twice to Southern Vectis customer services offices to have her digital photo taken (refused both times by the customer service assistant). She has submitted online photos weeks ago and told her card will be ready within four days which can only be collected by travelling a sixth time to a Southern Vectis Customer Services office, but every time we do this they cannot help and don’t have her card to check against all their government documents to confirm her age.”
Other families experiencing the same
Mo told News OnTheWight that four Ukrainian families that he has spoken to (they all meet up regularly) tell the same story, their Apps with the 30-day free travel do not work, despite seeking help from several organisations.
He said,
“All four families I spoke to all said the Southern Vectis App never worked once and just pay cash bus journey by journey at full price single fares. All are shocked at how expensive bus options are with zero access to any prepaid options.
“Southern Vectis blames Isle of Wight council (IWC) for not giving them a list of valid refugee applicants, yet IWC representatives actually entered the Southern Vectis App codes provided to them into the refugees’ phones which I saw with my own eyes.”
Gibson: “Six weeks of empty promises”
Mo says that the Southern Vectis offer has just been “six weeks of empty promises” and that they have zero concept of the problems they are causing some of the most vulnerable people in our Island community.
News OnTheWight has contacted Southern Vectis for a response and will add their reply once we hear back from them.
