Southern Vectis route 1



Southern Vectis route 1 is a bus service operated by Southern Vectis between Cowes and Newport on the Isle of Wight. The daytime frequency of the route is every 7-8 minutes. There are two route variants between Northwood and Cowes Pontoon, running either via Cowes Round House or Cowes Park and Ride. Mini Pointer Darts are used on the route to negotiate a tight turn into Cowes Pontoon.

History
The route number 1 has been long established for services between Ryde, Newport and Cowes. With an extension to Gurnard (reinstated periodially since) it was one of the original route numberings introduced in June 1933 by Southern Vectis.

For many years route 1, along with its later variant 1A ran from Ryde Esplanade via Newport to Cowes, terminating at West Hill Road. 1 ran via Fairlee and Somerton, 1A via Staplers and the Round House. Route 2 (also one of the original 1933 route numberings) ran between Newport and Cowes Pontoon only, but was withdrawn in the early 1970s. However, in the early 1980s the terminus on Route 1 was moved to Carvel Lane as this was nearer the Red Funnel ferry terminal than West Hill Road. In 1985 Service 91 Hydrobus was introduced to provide an express service to the Red Funnel hydrofoil, restoring a link to the Pontoon itself.

Route 1B was introduced as a local service from Ryde to Binstead, serving Binstead Estate and Barton's Corner. In 1969 this route was re-numbered as 6 and 1B became a Ryde to Cowes service alongside 1 and 1A, going via Fairlee, Pallance Road and Three Gates Road. In route revisions of 1985 1B between Ryde and Cowes was discontinued, and route 1C was briefly introduced for Ryde to Newport journeys continued to Blackgang on the route of previous service 19. Thereafter until the mid 1990s route number 1B was used for Ryde to Newport journeys continued to Alum Bay via Brighstone and 1C for journeys continuing to Alum Bay via Calbourne. At other times these West Wight route sections formed part or all of routes 28 and 27, routes 7B and 7C and routes 12 and 11.

In 1996 the core route from Cowes was extended beyond Ryde to Sandown, running via Nettlestone, St Helens and Bembridge. The route between Ryde and Newport ran via Butterfly World and Staplers and on to Cowes via the Round House. (Previously this had been the 1A variation, service 1 routed via Fairlee and Somerton). This route extension linked together the main centres of population in the North East of the Island.

Service revisions from 21 January 2001 brought more changes. Route 1 was withdrawn between Bembridge and Sandown, replaced by route 2 which was extended from the latter town to Ryde. Route 2 ran via Nettlestone, and route 1 was diverted to Ryde via Tesco and Oakfield. Other changes at the time were that Island Explorer routes 7 and 7A were diverted away from Havenstreet as road resurfacing caused double deckers to be unable to pass under the railway bridge there. They ran instead via Wootton to Ryde, on the old route of service 1. Route 1 therefore resumed its previous route via Fairlee rather than Staplers. Route 8, which had served Fairlee in the interim, was cut to serve only Ryde and Seaview. At around the same time, route 1 also started serving Binstead Estate in place of the main road. Given the deletion of express services 91 and 92 it was diverted away from Hunnyhill in Newport on its way to Cowes, running via Medina Way dual carriageway instead. In Cowes the former 91/92 route along upper Mill Hill Road was followed instead of the Round House route, and the terminus became the Pontoon rather than the Co-op.

The route was latterly run under the Oxford Blue and stripes livery. It was not the only route to run to Cowes as main routes 2, 2B, 3 and 3B also ran to Cowes under Route Rouge branding (and before that "Jet Link" routes 91 and 92). At this time route 1 was limited stop between Newport and Cowes. A further extension to Gurnard was introduced from 31 October 2004, to replace service 32. This led to the situation of having two route 1 buses timed to arrive at Cowes Pontoon at the same time in different directions.

Originally, buses leaving Binstead Estate towards Ryde ran along Mayfield Road, past Ryde High School and along Argyll Street. In the other direction, buses ran along Queens Road and straight into Binstead Estate. After 4 April 2004 the road layout at the junction of Mayfield Road and Queens Street was changed, which enabled buses only to drive out the wrong end of what had traditionally been one way. However, this caused problems, as sometimes the traffic lights would not recognise the buses. By January 2005, the problem had been limited to certain journeys and blamed on televisions; bus drivers were given permission to drive through the red lights with caution. Curiously road signage exempting buses from the one-way command remained long after scheduled buses ceased to use Mayfield Road in this direction.

For the Southern Vectis network change from 1 April 2006, route 1 was cut to only operate between Newport and Cowes. It became a high frequency service (but no longer limited stop) to cover the Route Rouge routes which were withdrawn from Cowes. The section to Ryde was replaced by route 9, which was initially extended hourly to Bembridge. Ryde to Bembridge is now served by route 8 (intermediately route 14). When changed, the route was temporarily operated from South Street bus lane next to Somerfield, the only route to do so while Newport Bus Station was being redeveloped. From the new network change, the service had a frequency of every 7–8 minutes. However, this was later upgraded to every 6 minutes from a new timetable in March 2008. As routes 2 and 3, which had between them covered Hunnyhill and the Round House and Newport Road routes, had been withdrawn north of Newport, all route 1 buses moved away from Medina Way onto Hunnyhill. At the same time, the upper Mill Hill Road section was replaced by two variations covering the Round House and Newport Road routes respectively. The Gurnard extension was also discontinued.

In 2008, route 1 was one of three routes - the others being route 3 and route 9 - to receive an hourly service on Christmas Day. 2008 is the first year buses have run on Christmas Day.

Since the April 2006 network change, route 1 has been allocated exclusively Mini Pointer Darts, which are low floor buses and are short enough to enter the Red Jet terminal (also known as Fountain Quay or the Pontoon). This is with the exception of the last journeys in the night, which don't serve the Red Jet, and where double-deckers can be used. Before they were withdrawn, the UVG bodied Darts were used occasionally in place of MPDs. While they were still able to serve the Red Jet terminal, the lack of blinds that distinguished which variation of the route the bus was on caused minor problems.

However, from the Cowes Week in 2007, buses have stopped serving the Pontoon at certain times of the day, instead terminating at the Co-op during the event. This allows double-deckers to be used, which they were, as well as in 2008. In 2009, the whole service didn't serve the Pontoon, all day, allowing for double-deckers to be used more easily. During Cowes Week 2009, roughly one double-decker was allocated per day, throughout the week, to cope with the loads. Numerous double-deckers were in service on Firework Night. During the bus driver strike on 3 September 2009, the service was again curtailed at the Co-op, to help drivers brought in from other companies.

In September 2009, following service cuts elsewhere in the network, four of the MPDs were transferred to Wilts & Dorset. However, this has meant that, in a case of that or no bus at all, double-deckers have been put into service on route 1 normally, having to miss the Pontoon stop and strand passengers, leaving gaps of up to 23 minutes if passengers want a specific section of route. In November 2009, a route 9 Mercedes-Benz Citaro was put on the route (at the same time as a double-decker), the first time one of these has been in service to Cowes. Further vehicles shortages in December 2009 and January 2010 saw a variety of vehicles substitute Mini Pointer Darts o the route, including Mercedes-Benz Citaros, standard Southern Vectis double-deckers, on loan Wilts & Dorset Volvo B7TLs, and in one case a Southern Vectis Volvo Olympian, which was brought out of the coach fleet to cover on route 1.

Route
The journey from Cowes to Newport originates at Cowes Pontoon (Fountain Quay) next to the Red Jet Terminal. From there the route either goes through Cowes Park and Ride or Cowes Round House, to Northwood, Parkhurst, St Mary's Hospital, and finally terminates at Newport. The standard journey time is 20 minutes from start to finish. A tight right hand turn into the approach area to Cowes Pontoon means that the only smaller buses can be used on this route, which are Mini Pointer Darts. However even with smaller buses being used, there have still been concerns about the safety of the turn, although it has been classed as safe by the Health and Safety executive.

Alternate journeys on route 1 serve Cowes Park and Ride. It was especially designed in 2003 for commuters travelling to the mainland using the Red Jet in Cowes. From the Park and Ride a £2.50 return ticket is available, one of the few return tickets Southern Vectis currently offer on their standard services.

On entering Newport from Cowes, route 1 comes in from lower St James' Street and makes use of bus lanes on St James Street and South Street before entering the bus station at stand E, located in the middle of the bus station. Route 1 is the only regular bus route connecting Cowes with Newport.

Frequency
Route 1 operates a day-time frequency of every 7-8 minutes (Monday to Saturday). This is currently the highest frequency of all of Southern Vectis' routes. However, this is in part due to the need to use smaller Mini Pointer Darts, which have a smaller carrying capacity at around 45, much lower than a standard double deck bus at around 95. Evening services have a frequency of every 15 minutes, Sundays every 10 since the summer 2009 timetable. Nightbuses which run on Friday and Saturday nights have a frequency of every 30 minutes. Between 30 September 2007 to 20 April 2008, route 1 had a service 24-hours a day, 7 days a week. Throughout the night during the week buses ran to a 30 minute frequency, effectively meaning this service never stopped. However now due to subsidy cuts made by the Isle of Wight Council to Southern Vectis these buses have been restricted just to operate on Friday and Saturday nights.

The increase in frequency to every 6 minutes (from every 7–8 minutes previously) resulted in a further two journeys each way per hour. To cope with this, four more Mini Pointer Darts were transferred from Bluestar for the network. All of which were repainted into the new two-tone green livery and featured advertisements for the increased frequency of the route on the rear of the bus. They were fleet numbers 317-320. However, with later cuts elsewhere in the network, 317 and 318 moved to Wilts & Dorset.

From the 18 April timetable change, route 1 was cut in frequency, back to every 7–8 minutes on Monday to Saturday, down to 8 buses per hour from 10bph. This was to give an increased cycle time, to help cope with delays.