Who we are
Southern Vectis
The principal bus operator on the Isle of Wight, Southern Vectis has been getting Island visitors and residents from A to B since 1929. As well as offering a regular and reliable bus service, Southern Vectis is a major employer with a successful apprenticeship and graduate scheme.
As well as providing regular and sustainable bus services connecting the Isle of Wight, we also see it as our responsibility to support and connect our Island communities, charities and valuable causes.
We take greener travel and preservation of the Island seriously, regularly updating our fleet with new greener and cleaner innovations and spreading the word about the benefits of bus travel on air pollution and the environment.
The Island's buses
Southern Vectis came into being when the Southern Railway bought the Vectis Bus Company in 1929. From then it was always owned by large national concerns and after 1970 was part of the state-owned National Bus Company.
With privatisation in 1986, the company was bought by its management team, and stayed independent until bought by the Go-Ahead Group in July 2005.
As the principal operator of bus services on the Isle of Wight, Southern Vectis serves the needs of the island’s residents with a really comprehensive network, and we cater for the huge influx of visitors throughout the ever-lengthening tourist season. The company has developed a strong partnership with the Isle of Wight Council and, for example, delivers 2500 children to school each day on behalf of the Council.
An equal opportunities employer
Transport has historically been a male dominated industry, and only in recently have women begun joining the industry in any great numbers. With almost one in five of our driving staff now women and around one third of new starters being women, we are proud to boast a hard working team of drivers and colleagues both male and female.
Southern Vectis is part of Go South Coast whose mean gender pay gap for 2017 is 0.6% (or 7p) which is substantially lower than the 17.4% national average. Read the entire report on the Go-Ahead Group website below.
Read our gender pay gap report.
Start your new career with Southern Vectis.
Accessibility - bus services for all
We take very seriously the need to make it easier for those of you with mobility, sight, or hearing difficulties to get around on our buses and use our website too. Our websites are equipped with ‘speak me’ technology to help the visually impaired. The software can also translate into many different languages.
All buses are low floor and easy access - and we have spaces available for wheelchair users. Our friendly drivers are always happy to assist. In the absence of national guidance, we can only carry mobility scooters below a certain size on our easy-access buses.
Go green, go clean
Not only is catching the bus a more cost effective option to running a car, it’s also better for the environment.
We’re realistic in understanding the convenience and comfort of a car, however making a decision to switch from car to bus just one day a week can have a significant impact on your carbon footprint.
One full double decker bus can take up to 75 cars off the road every day, reducing harmful emissions and congestion. Plus, the views are pretty great on the Island too, offering a rare moment for you.
Recently investing £3.7 million into sustainable transport on the Isle of Wight, our brand new ADL Enviro 400 MMC buses use greener, cleaner Euro 6 engines and produce fewer emissions than a brand new car with a Euro 6 engine – despite having 15 to 20 times the capacity.
With a Euro 6 diesel car emitting on average 10 times more NOx per km than a Euro 6 diesel bus, today buses play an important role in improving local air quality and are helping to make our towns cleaner places to live and work.
Through this investment, Southern Vectis are proud to support our local community and to play our part in preserving the beauty of Isle of Wight.
Go-Ahead and its operating companies are committed to providing public transport services that meet our passengers’ needs now and in the future. Public transport plays a key role in reducing the UK’s carbon footprint by providing an alternative to the use of private cars and reducing the environmental impact of transport.