Barry Taylor Retires After Mammoth 50-Year Stint Maintaining Isle Of Wight Buses And Routes

Barry Taylor is celebrating a well-earned retirement this month - after maintaining the island’s buses and routes for 50 years and one day.

Barry (66) recently completed his mammoth stint and celebrated with his Southern Vectis colleagues. It all began when he joined Southern Vectis’ engineering department as an apprentice in August 1975 - completing his training as a qualified fitter in 1979. 

Since then, he has fulfilled various different roles in engineering - before moving to become a tree cutter in 2006, ensuring routes were clear for buses travelling across the Isle of Wight.

He also worked as a driver on Southern Vectis’ morning and afternoon school routes right up until his retirement. 

“Words cannot express our gratitude for such an incredible achievement,” said Southern Vectis operations manager, Simon Moye. 

“Thank you Barry! We hope you have a long and healthy retirement, which is very well deserved.”

Barry added:

“It’s been an incredible journey, filled with lots of great memories.

"I’ve worked with many colleagues over the years - and some of them I hope will continue to be good friends for years to come. 

“I’ll stay in touch with the guys at the depot and, when I see buses on the island, it’ll remind me of all the work that goes on behind the scenes to make sure they they’re in the best condition they can be before they go out into service.”

Southern Vectis’ parent company the Go-Ahead Group recently announced a multi-million-pound investment in engineering.

This includes creating two leading engineering academies to train new apprentices and to up-skill its 900 engineers across the UK.

Engineers from Southern Vectis maintain 96 buses, which transport passengers across the Isle of Wight.

They attend the engineering academies to refine their skills and knowledge, learn about new technologies, gain zero-emission bus qualifications and prepare them for future management roles. 

For more information about the engineering apprenticeships, please visit the careers page at go-ahead.com and, for information about the Southern Vectis, visit islandbuses.info