Buses To Return To Havenstreet After 11-Year Absence

Buses are returning to an Isle of Wight village for the first time in 11 years.

The new number 33 service will reconnect Havenstreet to both Ryde and Newport, as well as the Island’s wider public transport network.

County Hall has said it will address ‘social isolation’ of the rural community – a longstanding concern of Havenstreet and Ashey Parish Council (HAPC).

Councillor Tony Barry, who chairs HAPC and sits as a Reform UK Isle of Wight Council member, said success has come ‘much sooner than could possibly have been anticipated’.

“The news comes just over a year since HAPC launched its Bus User Survey as the first step in a campaign to get Havenstreet back onto the Island’s bus network,” he said.

Havenstreet has not had a bus service since 2015.

The proposal to introduce the number 33 has been developed in partnership with Southern Vectis and the Isle of Wight Steam Railway, according to a report from County Hall’s transport strategy manager, Stewart Chandler.

The timetable for the route, which is anticipated to open on September 28, has been designed to operate between home to school bus services on Mondays to Fridays during term time.

During weekends, public holidays and school holidays, the number 33 will run with two extra journeys.

Funding is to come in part from the Department for Transport and the Isle of Wight Steam Railway will cover the costs for one of the weekend operating days.

The proposal to introduce the number 33 costs £55,000 per year for 2026/27 and 2027/28 between Monday to Friday, including public and school holidays.

A total of £26,000 has been costed for Saturdays and Sundays.

Cllr Barry said a timetable and information leaflet will be delivered to residents before the service gets underway.