Southern Vectis route 7

Southern Vectis route 7 is a bus service operated by Southern Vectis between Newport and various settlements in the area known as West Wight. The general daytime frequency of the route is every hour each direction, but due to the complex nature of the route this is different for some locations. The route has three variations, all of which reach Totland and Alum Bay before returning to Newport. Double-decker buses are normally used to operate the route.

History

Island Explorer

Until April 2006, the route number 7, and its associated 7A and 7B numbers, were used to flag buses providing services on the Island Explorer (or Explorer) route, a circular service around the whole island. This route was started in the late 20th century with routes 7 and 7A.

The full Island Explorer route was from Ryde bus station to Shanklin mainly on the A3055 road, then via Wroxall to Ventnor and from there to Blackgang. After Blackgang, buses ran to Freshwater Bay, Totland and Alum Bay. After that the route returned to Totland, then ran from there to Yarmouth, Newport and back to Ryde.

A service ran both ways around the loop, with full circular services running every hour in summer and every two hours in winter. There were additional services, also numbered 7 and 7A, which only ran part of the route, while the difference between service 7 and service 7A was the exact route taken between Newport and Yarmouth.

In January 2001, a new service was created from what had previously been service 12 and part of service 6. It was numbered 7B and added to the Explorer group. This never provided a round-the-island service, and so it is questionable whether the branding was appropriate. However, the change was made to link two previously unconnected routes with through buses running from Totland, via Freshwater Bay and Brighstone, to Newport and Ryde. Services from Ryde to Ventnor via Shanklin but not via Wroxall were also numbered 7B at this point, and although some through services were run, they seemed to run as separate routes.

The main 7/7A service between Ryde and Newport was also re-routed at this point - this was because recent resurfacing work on the road through Havenstreet had raised the surface under the steam railway bridge to the point where double decker buses could not reliably pass underneath.

Current Route

The current route 7 began operation on 1 April 2006 at the start of Southern Vectis' new network change. As such, when it first began operation Newport bus station was in the process of being redeveloped, and so along with most of Southern Vectis' other routes, it operated from Newport's temporary Litten Park bus stands.

Route

The route took over most of the Explorer services west of Newport, except those along the Military Road east of Brook, which are now run as the Island Coaster. All other sections of the Explorer routes were assigned new route numbers. Today's route 7 is perhaps best described as a circular service with some variations. The suffixes -A and -B, for journeys via Calbourne and Brighstone respectively, were dropped in March 2006 and have not been reinstated: All buses on the route operate as service 7, irrespective of the variation they serve.

• On leaving Newport bus station, all buses initially follow the same route to Carisbrooke. At the Waverley Inn roundabout the route splits, with one variation turning to the north, one continuing west and the other proceeding south-west.

:*All buses travelling clockwise turn to the south-west and pass through the rest of Carisbrooke, then serve Shorwell, Brighstone and Brook before joining the A3055 road to Freshwater Bay, where the route continues on local roads to Freshwater, then to Totland and Alum Bay.

:* Services in the anticlockwise direction take one of these two variations

::* Northern variation passes through Gunville then turns to the west to serve Shalfleet.

::* Middle variation passes through Calbourne then turns to the north-west to serve Thorley and Wellow.

:*Both then serve Yarmouth, Totland and Alum Bay. On reaching Alum Bay all buses then return towards Newport in the same direction - meaning they return via the other half of the route.

Services

An hourly service is operated in each direction, meaning while Brighstone and Yarmouth are served by one bus per hour to Newport, Totland and Alum Bay as well as Carisbrooke are served by two. GeneRally, services via Yarmouth alternate between the Shalfleet and Calbourne branches, so each receives only one bus every two hours, although one additional journey does run. Alum Bay is only served between 09:00 and 18:00 daily. Outside of these times, buses turn around at Totland. Irrespective of this, all but two journeys complete a circuit of West Wight.

See also

• List of Southern Vectis bus routes
• Transportation on the Isle of Wight

External links

• Southern Vectis website - islandbuses.info
• Southern Vectis route list
• Southern Vectis route 7
• Full Timetable