Southern Vectis announces increase in Isle of Wight bus services

Southern Vectis has announced it will increase daytime bus services across the Isle of Wight from next week.

The move follows higher demand – after the Government’s decision to begin easing the Coronavirus lockdown.

From Sunday 31st May, passengers on the Isle of Wight will benefit from more frequent buses across many Southern Vectis routes – with some running up to every 10 minutes.

Wickham: Responding to a rise in demand
Southern Vectis managing director, Andrew Wickham, said,

“Since March, we have been providing essential travel for those who have relied on us in order to be able to carry out their vital roles. And now others are returning to work.
“We are responding to a rise in demand, by re-introducing a number of services, and increasing the frequency of those we have been running since lockdown began.
“We want to make sure all our drivers and customers are safe on-board our buses, so we have introduced even more stringent cleaning regimes – sanitising our vehicles throughout with anti-viral wipes. We have also taken measures to enable social distancing, by altering the layout of our seating.”

Route 1 increases
Among the timetable changes are an increase in frequency for Route 1 – which runs from Newport to Cowes via St Mary’s Hospital. This route will now run every 10 minutes Monday to Saturday, and every 15 minutes on Sunday.

Andrew added,

“We are also introducing buses every 10 minutes on our popular Route 9, which runs from Newport to Ryde via Medina/Staplers, Wootton and Binstead.
“With social distancing measures in place, the number of passengers each vehicle can carry is reduced – but our customers will notice a significant increase in the number of buses running across the island. We ask those on-board to wear face coverings if they can, and to avoid using cash – paying by contactless, smartcard or app instead if possible.
“We are making some changes at Newport and Ryde bus stations, to allow for social distancing. This means our customers may need to catch their bus from a different stand. Please check our new signs at the bus station for details.
“We are delighted to be re-introducing so many of our services here. I would like to thank our customers for their continued support, and my key worker colleagues for their incredible resilience and dedication during these very challenging times.”

Summary of daytime service changes