Author: Stuart George
Free Travel for Pensioners Scrapped on Breezer and Island Coaster Buses
Monday, 20th April, 2009 at 10:26 am, Isle of Wight
Island-wide, Isle of Wight Council, Travel
Many thanks to Stuart George from the IW Bus Users Group for sending through this important information regarding free bus travel for pensioners. Ed
The IW Council has decided to withdraw free travel for pensioners on Southern Vectis’ Breezer (Open-top) & Island Coaster services on and from Friday 15 May on the grounds that they are tourist services.
The withdrawal of the Island Coaster from the scheme will particularly hit Ventnor, Whitwell and Niton residents as this provides the quickest way to travel to the West Wight.
In future, local pensioners will still be able to travel free to the West Wight, but only by changing at Newport which will take longer and ironically will cost the council more in reimbursement payments to Southern Vectis.
The government has given local authorities the discretion to continue to allow local residents to use excluded services but, in spite of a request by the IW Bus Users’ Group, the IW Council has chosen not to do so.
Additionally, although the Bus Users’ Group accepts the Breezers are tourist services under the government’s definition, it believes the Coaster doesn’t meet the government’s definition as the following extract from the DfT’s advice shows:
“We believe this proposal will only affect services which are clearly tourist services. By this we mean the type of services which charge premium fares and may provide a commentary or tour.”
As neither of these apply to the Coaster, the Bus Users’ Group believes the Council’s action may be illegal and is currently seeking further advice.
In the meantime pensioners may wish to enjoy using the Coaster before 15 May while it’s still free.
Image: Copyright Southern Vectis
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But have the government given them the discretion to determine their indiscretions?
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This seems incredibly mean – and it probably won’t save them very much money. The services will still run, without the pensioners. It will presumably result in more car use (by pensioners.)Us aged drivers will just have to clog up the roads with slow, careful driving. So much for ‘eco island’
That ride along the coast is one of the most lovely rides – it is just nasty and vindictive of the IOW council to deprive us of it.
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The Breezer Buses are just an advertisement for tourists. The can not be profitable.
My wife and I used to to use them regularly, but now they want £10.00 – That’s £20.00 for the pair of us. A tenth of the wife’s pension.
Yet I see nearly every Breezer bus running empty or just with two or three passengers on board.
If a charge has to be made, make it a realistic one.
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SV can offer a reduced fare for the over 60’s if they wanted to, just like other Island attractions do. IW council don’t subsidise those and why should they?
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(To avoid confusion – please note this comment is not from Stuart George the author of the article, but another Stuart. Ed)
Maybe all Southern Vectis buses should be classed as tourist services. (“services which charge premium fares”).
Would save 50000 Island households the £100 (in addition to the taxation for the Government part).
Might be better to give all over 60’s a book of free vouchers to use, to ensure that all have mobility without the need for unnecessary travel, and funding SV to purchase more buses.
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Pensioners are tourists too. When we go to West Wight from Ventnor on the Island Coaster we spend money in cafes and pubs just like any other tourist, and we keep going back.
The excellent bus service is one of the Island’s attractions for visitors, so what’s the point of discouraging pensioners from the mainland by charging for tourist buses ?
If Stuart is resentful of the free bus passes for pensioners then let me mention that pensioners pay taxes too but we don’t use the free schools or the school buses, so there.
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I’m sure that busses on the island wouldn’t be this big a problem if ordinary fares were such that peoplew would use the busses. I can’t rember the last time I used a bus on the island, I always drive as it is so much cheaper and I’m sure tourists just take one bus journey then find other ways of getting around for the same reason.
To give an example: a day go anywhere ticket on Southern Vectis costs £10. In the West Midlands (and that includes Birmingham, Coventry, Wolverhampton, Dudley etc) it is £3.30, in Greater London it is £3.80. So what makes the island three times the cost?
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Having just made a visit to the Island I was surprised at the way the bus service has been reduced. If you want to travel to anywhere in West Wight from Ryde you have to travel to Newport 1st. As a family we used to love using the buses, now we will bring the car.
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Stuart says:
Yesterday at 9:20 pm
funding SV to purchase more buses.
Why do you think they buy more buses – they’re not to be polished and taken out for fun. They buy more buses because they are running 60% more services and have the highest passenger growth anywhere in the UK, farepayers as well as over 60s.
John says:
Today at 9:02 am (12 hours ago)
I can’t rember the last time I used a bus on the island, I always drive as it is so much cheaper
£20 a week – do us all a favour and tell us how you manage to pay the tax insurance maintenance and fuel then!
a day go anywhere ticket on Southern Vectis costs £10. In the West Midlands (and that includes Birmingham, Coventry, Wolverhampton, Dudley etc) it is £3.30, in Greater London it is £3.80. So what makes the island three times the cost?
It’s a rural area 26 miles by 14 miles. Given the choice, i’d spend £20 a week for a pass here than £3.30 for a Day out in Birmaingham Coventry Dudley and Wolverhampton.
Barry says:
Today at 8:16 pm (54 minutes ago)
Having just made a visit to the Island I was surprised at the way the bus service has been reduced. If you want to travel to anywhere in West Wight from Ryde you have to travel to Newport 1st.
That’s the most direct route from Ryde to the West Wight. Ryde to Newport every 7/8 minutes, then times an hour to the West Wight. Best service for decades. If you want the prety long way, then it’s the Island Coaster that this article was all about. They run 60% more service than 4 years ago.
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Bus Spotter says;
Why do you think they buy more buses – they’re not to be polished and taken out for fun. They buy more buses because they are running 60% more services and have the highest passenger growth anywhere in the UK, farepayers as well as over 60s.
How do you work out “they have the highest passenger growth in the UK”? The Island has a population of only 150,000!
Bus spotter says;
That’s the most direct route from Ryde to the West Wight. Ryde to Newport every 7/8 minutes, then times an hour to the West Wight. Best service for decades. If you want the prety long way, then it’s the Island Coaster that this article was all about. They run 60% more service than 4 years ago.
How do you work out “They run 60% more services than 4 years ago? are you comparing ‘The Island Coaster’ to ‘The Island Explorer’? There are only 2 ‘Island Coasters’ a day as far as I am aware compared to an hourly service on ‘Island Explorer’.
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Reduced village routes, no through routes, and high pay-as-you-go fares now make bus travel unviable for occasional users. Bus companies seem to have put up fares frequently (especially for shorter journeys) to get reimbursed more from the public purse and to claim more journeys and more fares foregone. (Over £6,000,000 on IW, I read).
A couple of years ago £1.30 was the local fare. Now £2.50. (2 Aduls & child return now £12).
An unsustainable government initiative?
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letter in the daily mail :
when we got the the senior citizen’s bus pass concession two years ago, a local service used by disabled pensioners for journeys to hospital and general shopping was discontinued.
this we were told was because too many people were using the free services for day outings on the open top buses.
i wrote to the then transport minister ruth kelly but the reply i received stated that if bus companies were having diffiuclties with the concessions they could apply for extra money.
apparently no such request has been received from the isle of wight.
so i and many other elderly people are obliged to pay for a taxi service because it is a 15 to 20-minute wall to the bus stop.
there is a dial-a-bus but it is available only twice a week.
j. metcalfe
cowes
isle of wight.
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