Southern Vectis bus fleet

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

One of 21 Dennis Dart/Plaxton Pointers in the Southern Vectis bus fleet.
One of 21 Dennis Dart/Plaxton Pointers in the Southern Vectis bus fleet.

Southern Vectis have a total of 93 buses in their fleet used for regular services. These include single deck buses, double deck buses, open top buses, and coaches, normally used for school routes or driver training. Including ancillary and other vehicles such as road trains, their total fleet is 103.[1][2] Buses have either been bought new or been transferred from other bus companies, normally fellow Go-Ahead bus companies such as Solent Blue Line or Wilts and Dorset.

Contents

[edit] Single deck buses

[edit] Iveco

Bus 246, an Iveco minibus. It should be noted that route 30 has now been re-numbered to 28.
Bus 246, an Iveco minibus. It should be noted that route 30 has now been re-numbered to 28.
Bus 900, one of the ex-Brighton and Hove Dennis Dart/Plaxton Pointers.
Bus 900, one of the ex-Brighton and Hove Dennis Dart/Plaxton Pointers.
Bus 810, one of the UVG bodied Dennis Darts.
Bus 810, one of the UVG bodied Dennis Darts.

Southern Vectis originally bought 36 new and second-hand Iveco minibuses between 1987 and 1997, with only five left. Fleet numbers 045, 047 and 246 were new in 1997 while numbers 260 and 263 were bought second-hand in 2001. Three of the five left are used for regular services, numbers 260, 263 and 246 and in 2007 were repainted to the new two-tone green livery. They have also been fitted with seat belts as they are commonly used on school services.

  • 1 Iveco 59.12/Marshall Bus – Fleet number 246.
  • 2 Iveco 59.12/Mellor – Fleet numbers 260, 263.

[edit] Darts

Southern Vectis currently own five types of Darts. Six of these were new in 1996 in the old mushroom and green livery. They were allocated to run the Jetlink service from Cowes to Sandown and Ventnor, which after the 2006 network change, was deleted.

In 2002, a new Plaxton Mini Pointer Dart was the first bus in the fleet to feature a low floor/kneeling entrance, a public address system, CCTV and LED destination displays, at the front, rear, and left-hand side, and was delivered in the Oxford blue livery.

To cope with the increase in services after a network change, a further 14 were delivered in 2005 and were painted in the 2005 two-tone green livery. 2006 saw two more transferred from Solent Blue Line, in the 2006 two-tone green livery, the first of the single deck buses in this livery. Following more Solent Blue Line services revisions, four more MPDs were transferred in February 2008. The first entered service in early April 2008, and on the first journey got stuck trying to access Cowes Pontoon on route 1, because the steering lock hadn't been changed from when it was with Solent Blue Line.

A number of ex-London buses (including some from London United) have also been owned over the years.

[edit] Mercedes Citaros

Bus 456, one of the Citaros one on route 9.
Bus 456, one of the Citaros one on route 9.

Mercedes-Benz Citaros were new to the island in 2007 and are the longest ever single deck bus owned by Southern Vectis, at 12 metres. They were bought exclusively for use on route 9 from Newport to Ryde and are the only buses in the fleet with air conditioning and Euro 5 engines.

In April 2008, the MOT of one of the buses discovered that buses 451 and 452 were wearing the wrong registrations plates, they had been from new. To match the chassis number, they were switched round.

[edit] Double deck buses

[edit] Leyland Olympians

Bus 710, a Leyland Olympian.
Bus 710, a Leyland Olympian.
Bus 736, a Leyland Olympian/Northern Counties double decker.
Bus 736, a Leyland Olympian/Northern Counties double decker.

There were originally 16 Leyland Olympians bought between 1989 and 1990 of which 12 remain in service. A further batch of nine Northern Counties bodied Olympians were bought in 1993 of which seven are left in service. They are the longest serving current buses in the Southern Vectis fleet and most are now fitted with coach style seating. Fleet numbers 742 and 743 have now been converted to open-top buses, while some of the others now feature complete rear advertising.

[edit] Volvo Olympians

Two batches of the Northern Counties bodied Volvo Olympians were bought new, seven in 1995 and eight in 1998. They have served through a variety of liveries, firstly the mushroom cream and green liver, then either 'Route Rouge' or the Island Explorer livery. Four have now been converted to open top, and are in the 'Island Breezer' livery.

[edit] Volvo B7TL

There were seven B7TLs bought new in 2002 and were originally in the Island Explorer blue livery. They were the first to be repainted to the new two-tone green livery and now all feature past acts from the Isle of Wight Festival on the right-hand side.

[edit] Bristol VRT

Three buses, which have now been converted to open-top still remain in the original sunburst open-top livery. They are to be kept with Southern Vectis for 2008 and used as spares.

[edit] Bristol K5G

Now known as 'The Old Girl' having been the oldest working bus in the UK, still operated by the original owner. New in 1939 with ECW bodywork. In 1959 it was converted to open-top and has recently been restored to the original livery of apple and cream. It is now popular for private hire.

  • 1 Bristol K open-top (heritage bus) – In apple and cream livery, named 'The Old Girl' by enthusiasts and now officially (as it is the oldest bus in the fleet) – Fleet number 602.

[edit] Coaches

Southern Vectis' coach fleet is marketed through the use of different trading names, these being companies that Southern Vectis has purchased over the years. None of the coaches are in the two-tone green livery, they have been left in their original branding, and are a mixture of different types. They use three chassis types Dennis Javelin, Volvo B10M and DAF SB types, and the bodies are from different coachbilders too, including, Plaxton, Van Hool and Ikarus products.

Coaches are normally used to operate Southern Vectis' school routes, but are also used for private hire work, and for driver training.

[edit] Ancillary and other vehicles

[edit] Fleet numbering

A new system of fleet numbering was introduced to Southern Vectis on 19 September 2006, creating sets of 'hundreds' to identify each vehicle type:

  • 0xx - Ancillary vehicles
  • 1xx - Low floor double decks
  • 2xx - Iveco minibuses
  • 3xx - Low floor single decks, short enough to access Cowes Pontoon
  • 4xx - Low floor single decks, too long to access Cowes Pontoon
  • 5xx - Coaches
  • 6xx - Open top tour buses and Roadtrains
  • 7xx - Step entry double decks
  • 8xx - Step entry single decks, short enough to access Cowes Pontoon
  • 9xx - Step entry single decks, too long to access Cowes Pontoon

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Southern Vectis bus fleet
  2. ^ Southern Vectis Fleet List - Correct to 6th Jan 2008


v • d • e
Bus companies operating in South East England
Berkshire



South East England
Buckinghamshire
East Sussex
Hampshire
Isle of Wight
Kent
Oxfordshire
Surrey
West Sussex
National
v • d • e
Flag of the United Kingdom Bus transport in the United Kingdom
General
By country
Private operators
By country
Public operators
Public authorities
Manufacturers
List of bus companies of the United Kingdom