Southern Vectis route 5

Southern Vectis route 5 is a bus service operated on the Isle of Wight by Southern Vectis between Newport and East Cowes via Fairlee, Whippingham and Osborne House. The general daytime frequency of the route is every 15 minutes in each direction, reducing to half-hourly for evenings and Sundays.

History
Route 5 itself was run before the 2006 network change. At that point, the frequency of the route was every 15 minutes. Half of all buses running this route used to continue, on arrival at East Cowes, towards Ryde as service 4.



Routes 4 and 5 have previously been marketed as The Victoria Line. In 1997, while the daytime frequency was every 15 minutes, Sunday services only operated every hour. Sunday services on the route had been increased to half-hourly by the summer of 2003, and the Victoria Line branding dropped.

Buses stopped interworking between routes 4 and 5 from 1 April 2007, partly due to their incompatible frequencies. This also reduces delays to both routes.

The route stopped serving the Red Funnel ferry terminal from 16 March 2008. A replacement bus stop has been sited in Link Road near the car check-in booth.

From 30 August 2009 the route was cut to operate only every 15 minutes. This was due to cuts in funding for free travel paid by the Isle of Wight Council to Southern Vectis.

During 2010 the bus stop for Route 5 situated at the Umbrella Tree on York Avenue, was moved to co inside with the new Waitrose Development taking place in Well Rd. The bus stop was then latterly moved further away from the development on Well Road now situated near St.James Church in East Cowes. When the building works for Waitrose were completed February 2011 the bus stop was moved back to outside Waitrose.

On 9 January 2011 the route will be cut to operate every 20 minutes during weekdays and every 30 minutes on Sundays. During the April 2011 network changes the Route 5 now has a nightbus on Friday and Saturday Nights running every hour.

Services
A 15-minute frequency is operated in each direction during the daytime. Evening and Sunday services run every 30 minutes. The last bus from East Cowes at 00:35.