Wightbus route 16

Wightbus route 16 or the Rail link service was a bus service operated on the Isle of Wight by Wightbus between St Lawrence and Shanklin via Ventnor Botanic Garden, Ventnor and Bonchurch. It was introduced in 2004 to restore a rail connection to Ventnor and St Lawrence, whose railway stations were closed in the mid-twentieth century.

In July 2010 it was announced that as of September of that year, the Rail Link service would be withdrawn due to budget cuts in supporting subsidised bus services made by the Isle of Wight Council. After the last bus on 4 September 2010 route 31 was diverted to serve St Lawrence to cover lost ground and Southern Vectis route 3 was re-routed to serve the Shanklin rail station maintaining some kind of connection with Ventnor.

Previous Rail connections to Ventnor
The Isle of Wight Railway opened their Ventnor station in 1866, with another company's Ventnor West branch line reaching St Lawrence in 1897, then a separate station at Ventnor West (initially named Ventnor Town) in 1900. The Ventnor West branch closed in 1952 and, despite its popularity with residents and visitors, the main IWR Ventnor station was closed, along with that at neighbouring Wroxall, under the recommendations of the Beeching Report in 1966. Trains were to be replaced by enhanced bus services, with the new route 39 being introduced, running from Shanklin to Ventnor via Wroxall before being withdrawn in the early 1980s.

By the 1990s, buses to and from Ventnor were not generally providing a connection to or from trains at Shanklin station. An attempt to run connecting services as an offshoot from the Ventnor town bus route (31) in the late 1990s failed to run at a profit and was withdrawn.

Introduction of Rail Link bus
The rail link service ran for a relatively short time, having started in October 2004. Representatives of the regeneration partnerships of Ventnor and Shanklin and Ventnor Railway Association campaigned for around a year to get it started and contributed funds together with Island Line, the South East England Development Agency and the Isle of Wight Council. As well as linking Ventnor to the railway, it also gave St Lawrence, then poorly served by public transport, a better bus service into Ventnor.

However, the service was plagued by late running and missed connections when it was first introduced. Despite assurances that the route would be kept clear, it seemed the problem stemmed from the bus being unable to pass parked vehicles on the route as it was originally designed. The intention was that on alternate journeys in each direction (i.e.: every 2 hours each way) the bus would run via Bonchurch village on its way between Ventnor and Shanklin. Within a week the route had to be amended so that all journeys ran along the A3055 road and avoided Bonchurch Village. This led to some annoyance among the population of Bonchurch, who had hoped for improved transport. The option of running these buses via Bonchurch village once more has recently been raised.

History of 'route 16'
The route's number was a reference to an older bus service run by Southern Vectis until the early 1990s. This route ran from Ryde Town Hall through to Niton and Blackgang via Ventnor; the Shanklin-St.Lawrence section was revived by the Wightbus service.

Withdrawal
In June 2010 reports began that rural bus services would be cut in order for the Isle of Wight Council to save up to £7 million over four years. Later in July it was reported that the Rail Link service would form part of these cuts and would cease to operate from 4 September 2010. At the time, route 16 was the only form of public transport to serve St Lawrence so current route 31 which already served Ventnor and Wroxall had to be extended to cover lost ground. Although most areas were served by other bus routes, it ended the ability to purchase a combined bus and train ticket and also ended the Ventnor to Shanklin return fare.

Services


An hourly service was operated in each direction during the daytime. There was generally no evening or Sunday service, although some journeys at these times were run in the summer of 2005. Journeys were timed specifically to meet trains at Shanklin. A single deck bus in a modified Wightbus livery was used to operate the route with 'Rail link service' applied to both sides.

Passengers were able to buy through-tickets to any Island Line station and Portsmouth Harbour, and return bus tickets, which are not available during the daytime on other Island bus services.