Wightbus route 33
Encyclopedia
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...
by Southern Vectis
Southern Vectis
The Southern Vectis Omnibus Company Limited is the dominant bus operator on the Isle of Wight. It was purchased by the Go-Ahead Group in 2005 and is a part of the company's Go South Coast division. The firm employs 299 staff, with 105 single deck, double deck and open-top buses and coaches...
within in a community partnership with the Isle of Wight Council, the route runs between Newport
Newport, Isle of Wight
Newport is a civil parish and a county town of the Isle of Wight, an island off the south coast of England. Newport has a population of 23,957 according to the 2001 census...
and Ryde
Ryde
Ryde is a British seaside town, civil parish and the most populous town and urban area on the Isle of Wight, with a population of approximately 30,000. It is situated on the north-east coast. The town grew in size as a seaside resort following the joining of the villages of Upper Ryde and Lower...
, via Blackwater
Blackwater, Isle of Wight
Blackwater is a village on the Isle of Wight. It is located three kilometres south of Newport, close to the geographic centre of the island.British pop artist Robbie Williams once visited Blackwater for three nights to get away from the media...
, Havenstreet
Havenstreet
Havenstreet is a village on the Isle of Wight, located about 2 miles southwest of Ryde.The Isle of Wight Steam Railway Museum is in Havenstreet, along with a station. Every year, the Isle of Wight Steam Railway runs a "Santa Express" train from Wootton to Havenstreet, which is a centre of...
and Haylands
Haylands
Haylands is an area just to the south of Ryde on the Isle of Wight, off the south coast of England. Located to the east, it is a short walk away from housing estates at Pell and Binstead....
. The route runs a limited service of 4 buses in each direction per day, with no Sunday service. The limited service is due to much better services run by Southern Vectis
Southern Vectis
The Southern Vectis Omnibus Company Limited is the dominant bus operator on the Isle of Wight. It was purchased by the Go-Ahead Group in 2005 and is a part of the company's Go South Coast division. The firm employs 299 staff, with 105 single deck, double deck and open-top buses and coaches...
to most destinations on the route except Havenstreet. A single deck bus is used to operate the route.
History
Route 33 began as a Southern VectisSouthern Vectis
The Southern Vectis Omnibus Company Limited is the dominant bus operator on the Isle of Wight. It was purchased by the Go-Ahead Group in 2005 and is a part of the company's Go South Coast division. The firm employs 299 staff, with 105 single deck, double deck and open-top buses and coaches...
service in 2001, to replace Island Explorer services previously routed via Havenstreet. This occurred after road resurfacing meant double decker buses were unable to pass under the railway
Isle of Wight Steam Railway
The Isle of Wight Steam Railway is a heritage railway on the Isle of Wight. The railway passes through 5½ miles of unspoiled countryside from to station, passing through the small village of Havenstreet, where the line has a station, headquarters and a depot...
bridge at the southern end of Havenstreet. Wightbus became involved in the route's operation from at least October 2004 by running journeys under contract to Southern Vectis. Separate journeys were first operated by Wightbus from October 2006, when Southern Vectis
Southern Vectis
The Southern Vectis Omnibus Company Limited is the dominant bus operator on the Isle of Wight. It was purchased by the Go-Ahead Group in 2005 and is a part of the company's Go South Coast division. The firm employs 299 staff, with 105 single deck, double deck and open-top buses and coaches...
started to withdraw services from its own timetable. Due to council cuts earlier in 2011, Wightbus was announced of being axed with Southern Vectis
Southern Vectis
The Southern Vectis Omnibus Company Limited is the dominant bus operator on the Isle of Wight. It was purchased by the Go-Ahead Group in 2005 and is a part of the company's Go South Coast division. The firm employs 299 staff, with 105 single deck, double deck and open-top buses and coaches...
taking over the route and running a community partnership with the Isle of Wight Council. All drivers on the route are volunteers.
Under Southern Vectis
Under Southern Vectis, the route was operated from 21 January 2001 before the network change on 2 April 2006 and continued in operation with them until the timetable change on 15 March 2008. The best service was in operation from October 2004 until April 2006 with 6 journeys each way, and two additional evening services linking Havenstreet to Ryde on weekdays. Originally, the route ran from Ryde through to CowesCowes
Cowes is an English seaport town and civil parish on the Isle of Wight. Cowes is located on the west bank of the estuary of the River Medina facing the smaller town of East Cowes on the east Bank...
via Havenstreet, Newport and Gurnard
Gurnard, Isle of Wight
Gurnard is a village and civil parish on the Isle of Wight, two miles to the west of Cowes. Gurnard sits on the edge of Gurnard Bay, enjoyed by the Gurnard Sailing Club.Gurnard's main street features a pub , a few shops and a few houses...
. However, as a result of the new network from April 2006, where all routes were split at Newport to improve reliability, the section from Newport to Cowes was run separately, reverting to the previously-used route number of 30. From 1 October 2006, the route was reduced to 4 journeys from Newport and 3 from Ryde. It was after this that the Wightbus service was introduced to work alongside the Southern Vectis service to make up for lost journeys. There was little change in the route until 30 September 2007, when all Southern Vectis services were withdrawn from the timetable with the exception of one early morning journey from Ryde, and three Sunday services each way. This was done as services were moved onto route 29. Southern Vectis withdrew from route 33 in March 2008.
Current route under Southern Vectis
When Wightbus first started operating the route, it ran three services each way, one early morning service and two afternoon services. A fourth morning service was added to the route when Southern Vectis announced they would be axing their route 29, the only other bus service to serve Havenstreet. To begin with it looked as though no additional journeys would be provided by Wightbus, however the Isle of Wight CouncilIsle of Wight Council
The Isle of Wight Council is a local council. It is a unitary authority covering the Isle of Wight, South East England. It is currently made up of 40 seats, with the Conservatives as ruling party with 24 councillors at the latest local election in June 2009....
later found room in its budget to accommodate them.
As from September 2010 service 29 was withdrawn, with certain journeys being operated as route 33A, serving Wootton instead of Blackwater before proceeding to Havenstreet and Ryde.
The route has now passed to Southern Vectis following the axing of Wightbus.
Services
Four services per day are operated in each direction during the daytime. There is no evening or Sunday service.External links
- Wightbus details on the Isle of Wight Council's website - iwight.com
- Timetable on Traveline - traveline.org.uk