Isle of Wight Beer and Buses

[Bod]

The difference with the beer and buses festival from many other events is that there is a separate vehicle allocations supplement which details what vehicle does each service in all the timetables. It is an essential document to have to plan your day and your intended moves. It also shows the first and last workings of the vehicles that interest and you get a good idea of the services to avoid if you don't like any particular make of bus. Many running day programmes just have timetables and no vehicle allocations and that is the important factor why many enthusiasts don't buy running day programmes because they don't give the bus rider the info they require. If other events followed the same path as the Isle of Wight then many more programmes would get sold if they had vehicles allocated to every timetabled journey. This is where preserved railways are better in that they advertise all the locos they intend to use at their galas to attract visitors but many bus running days are a complete mystery as to what vehicles they hope to run.

I can assure people that all of my circle of friends riding around on the beer and buses event purchased these programmes this weekend as it was essential information and you wouldn't get very far without it with so many routes to cover. I stand by my comment that the people not in possession of programmes were not enthusiasts, many were mixed groups just getting in as many pubs as they could. I was asked several times if they could look at my programme for bus times or could I tell them the frequency etc as well as seeing and overhearing them ask the drivers when the next bus was due.

The priority boarding idea is not a bad one but maybe it is only necessary for Newport in the very busy periods. I wouldn't want it to be used half way down a route like Arreton or on the last buses of the day. I wouldn't have thought it would be too onerous for a volunteer if you had a sign hanging up for priority boarding card holders on one side and the rest queue alongside as barriers were used to split the crowds into separate queues for routes.

 

[richw]

@heart-of-wessex i believe half the problem with allocations on Saturday was a number of buses and drivers heavily delayed by Wightlink were unfit to drive on Saturday so vehicle allocations had to be amended to allow drivers to catch some sleep etc

 

[MotCO]

Would even more buses solve the problem, or would the whole system just clog up?

Alternatively, could they be registered as proper bus services so that fares or a day ticket (aka a programme) could be charged. Then any locals would not be able to go to the pub for free. Or alternatively, Southern Vectis might be able to provide more service buses. The buses could avoid being DDA compliant by the '20 day rule'. Would the cost of registering the service be prohibitive?

 

[richw]

Would even more buses solve the problem, or would the whole system just clog up?

Alternatively, could they be registered as proper bus services so that fares or a day ticket (aka a programme) could be charged. Then any locals would not be able to go to the pub for free. Or alternatively, Southern Vectis might be able to provide more service buses. The buses could avoid being DDA compliant by the '20 day rule'. Would the cost of registering the service be prohibitive?

Most of the historic buses are only on class 5 MOTs and insurances so couldn’t be used for revenue service.
Duplicates would help, but of course would need more drivers etc.

 

[carlberry]

Would even more buses solve the problem, or would the whole system just clog up?

Alternatively, could they be registered as proper bus services so that fares or a day ticket (aka a programme) could be charged. Then any locals would not be able to go to the pub for free. Or alternatively, Southern Vectis might be able to provide more service buses. The buses could avoid being DDA compliant by the '20 day rule'. Would the cost of registering the service be prohibitive?

The cost isn't the actual registration (I belive it's about £60), it's everything that goes with it. Somebody with an operating license for the correct number of vehicles will have to register it (A couple of museums have operating licenses; Brooklands and Wythall are examples, however only for small numbers of vehicles.) That company will then have to get insurance for the whole thing, ensure that each vehicle has a class 6 MOT and undertake an inspection beforehand. Each driver also needs to have their PCV and CPC checked by the company. The complications involved are the reason why, even when the event is organised by a bus company (for example in recent years the events at Poole and Salisbury with Go Ahead) they're still run as free services.

 

[Birdbrain]

Hi Guys,

Thank you for your comments and replies. As someone who is involved in the organising of the event from a vehicle allocation point of view I thought I’d clear a few things up.

Firstly, the organisers are so frustrated with the ferry events on Friday night which messed up our plans to deal with overcrowdeding on Saturday. We had initially planned for 4 spare single deckers at Newport to duplicate on the Cowes routes and 4 double decks for west Wight plus Vectis Blue School deckers. Unfortunately there were 12 buses affected by the Ferries so we lost all of our spare capacity after rescheduling at midnight before the event!

As an enthusiast I know it is frustrating to not get on the vehicle you want. Saturday was so busy and Sunday was very quiet. I was dispatching buses at Newport and only four departures all day were sent from Newport full on Sunday. I would advise that this is the much easier day to travel on specific f it vehicles. That said, I spoke to some enthusiasts on Saturday who wanted specific vehicles and told them to get to the front of any queue and I’d keep them aside to get on the bus they wanted. Every vehicle change apart from mechanical on the day issues was posted around the site on A3 laminated sheets and on our Facebook page so the vehicle supplement for the majority of journeys was accurate until the end. The Carlyle dart did suffer a mechanical fault meaning it was replaced by HW52EPX as very short notice, apologies.

I know on Saturday the vast majority of the crowds are local drinkers, but when we set up the event, the idea was to encourage the local community to be involved with the bus museum. We found that they were more likely to buy programmes than enthusiasts and after costs, the surplus money goes back into funding restorations at the bus museum. So by buying the programme, the normal punters are paying for bus restorations and running costs of the museum.

We cannot use programmes as priority boarding and this would constitute hire and reward and most vehicles are only class five. We cannot get more than the 100 vehicles we had this year as we only have a set amount of ferry bookings and overnight parking spaces. The owners that do come choose how many hours/days they will operate and we do not want to push their goodwill any further. Southern Vectis already support us by providing JAM145E, BFX666T, CDL899 and the Vectis blue deckers with drivers. As many Sv drivers were already driving for the bus museum, we are lucky to get any drivers from Sv. We do encourage people to buy the special offer Sv rover as a back up plan if buses are full. We will again look at changing the network for 2019 so any ideas are most welcomed.

 

[heart-of-wessex]

Birdbrain - thank you very much for the explanations, fully understand now why thr diagrams went to pot. I'd have done Newport on Sunday too only our bus was going back to Westbury after 3pm from Ryde so spent the time doing the Ryde vehicles on leaps to Brading and back.

I didn't think about asking to wait at the front of the queue as I assumed maybe you just had to get on a bus or go back to the end of the queue. I'll ask about waiting for buses next year as I say even with the diagrams fully working its hoping you can get on, as a 'basher' the destination doesn't matter, just a ride to the next bus stop

In regards to programs, I always get a programme if I can as not only does it have the timetables but the vehicle entry list with history and owners are most useful, and I class a programme as my 'entry fee' knowing that will go towards the running costs of future events.

For riding vehicles, the event I enjoyed was Gaydon, first visit I had early this year and I loved the short ride out the estate and back. 5 minutes round trip, gets the vehicle in the book, reasonable time to sample the vehicle, then on to the next vehicle to do the same.

 

[83G/84D]

In response to recent posts I reiterate that demand has exceeded supply on the last two occasions I have attended making it very difficult to plan trips on specific buses or journeys. This is especially the case if starting from Newport or Ryde.

Having seen the suggestions posted I am
not sure how feasible some are or if they could possibly be implemented but I feel something has to be done to make things better for next time.
But what can be done?

The organisers including Ben and the team at Newport do a terrific job and I cannot criticise them at all for all the hard work they put into organising the event.

I love going to Beer and Buses every year but for the first time I am having second thoughts about spending 45 minutes in a queue for a bus as I did this year. This was at Ryde on Saturday afternoon by the way. Maybe the Rydabus event earlier in the year may be my preferred option for 2019.

 

[overthewater]

Let be clear here, the ferry company is to blame for the problems, and how anyone FORGETS to keep its Sea worthiness in check is beyond me.....

 

[Zamracene749]

Well, to all involved thank you for a fantastic weekend. The massive amounts of islanders travelling and visiting the pubs makes the event genuinely special, the atmosphere was huge fun and if it was oversubscribed? Well, goes to show how good it is. We travelled down from Durham to visit and had a great time. We were left behind at Sandown on the saturday dinnertime, then on the sunday we were unable to leave Bembridge after 2pm, so ended up getting the regular Vectis bus home. However, that to me is a risk you take. The locals were warm and welcoming, the pubs were the same, being stuck somewhere for 2 hours longer than expected is no big loss in those circumstances! Most of the passengers that I saw were clutching the 7 quid program, not so many the additional one with vehicle allocations. If there can't be any more buses, then I would suggest adding footnotes to the heritage timetables detailing the last 'normal' buses, and their frequency, to avoid folk getting stranded in places that would need taxis. Plus it would have been lovely to have more late rides Returning from Brightstone on the last Olympian as the sunset, with good natured singing (including a Happy birthday for someone) and chatter was an absolute delight. To sum up- great buses being used by real people in a real setting. Superb!

 

[83G/84D]

I am glad you enjoyed the weekend. Were you attending as a bus enthusiast or just for the occasion and the pubs?

For the bus enthusiasts there might be a desire to ride behind a particular vehicle on a particular route at a particular time.

When I first attended a few years ago that wasn’t a real concern. Now however due to the popularity of the event, to not only bus enthusiasts but pub goers, walkers and others this can prove a real challenge.
I personally wanted to spend the day riding around on particular buses on certain routes but due to the weather causing ferry crossing issues and subsequent reallocation of buses plus the crowds at certain locations I was unable to accomplish this.

I had similar issues last year too.

If you just want a ride in any old bus to a couple of pubs fair enough but I had hoped for something different and was a little disappointed and frustrated.

Anyway I am glad that the majority of feedback on here is positive.

 

[richw]

Reading @83G/84D comments, I’d probably say due to the sheer size and passenger numbers of the event that its not an event that it’s possible to plan ahead as much.

The local beer drinkers were a far more sociable and polite bunch than some of the enthusiasts. I was conducting and a small amount of relief driving for my friend on the Saturday. We encountered a few enthusiasts who were getting quite unpleasant because we were full.
The local boozers were in party spirit and having a sing along, a couple of enthusiasts were getting grumpy over the party atmosphere.
It felt like some of the enthusiasts and boozers socially don’t go together.
I’ve noted the above comment about Sunday being much quieter, perhaps the Saturday could be promoted to the boozers and Sunday more aimed at the enthusiast community who want to ride specific buses?
The party bus atmosphere was most enjoyable from a conducting point, some of the enthusiast filled buses I’ve encountered at other events have been like being in a morgue!

This post isn’t reflective of all enthusiasts!

 

[theblackwatch]

As previously mentioned, I didn't attend this year, but it's great to see constructive feedback on here from those involved in organising it and the punters. When I did attend previously in 2016, it was for both the buses and the beer - I had a great time, managing 10 VRs for riding one day and the second day doing a circular outing from Newport on a route using single deckers, stopping off at a pub at each stop, then catching the next bus 30 mins later. Evenn then, Sunday was queter than Saturday.

One thing that has come to mind for the Saturday to help keep the bus cranks a bit happier is an idea to introduce a 'non pub' route from Newport o the Saturday, non stop to Location X (maybe a museum, garden centre, ice cream parlour, cafe, etc) with vehicles laying over/located there too so that people can do a different one back?

 

[Bod]

Perhaps the reason why the pub goers came across as more cheerful was down to them being a little tipsy from drinking which has a tendency to loosen tongues and make people talk more, or sing, as the case may be. Sober enthusiasts would be quieter and more reserved if, like me, you don't drink. Alcohol has a tendency to change people's behaviour, even the quieter ones. It is interesting to note people enjoying the atmosphere that the drinkers created on buses, as when football fans sing and drink on trains, most people around them dislike it. For me personally, being surrounded by people who have drunk too much, whilst I am sober, is a little intimidating and then I go into my shell. However, I appreciate that is the risk I run by riding buses at a beer event!

I stand by my assertion that the mixed sexes in groups in their 20-30's did not possess programmes that I encountered on the journeys I made. As we were probably travelling on different buses to each other on this thread then people will have differing views. I know that the dozen enthusiasts I socialised with over the weekend all had the allocation supplements. Another issue is that whilst I agree that Sunday is the quieter day and better for the enthusiast, it isn't feasible for me to just do the one day. For starters I wanted to ride on twenty of the buses and it simply wasn't possible to get them all in for one day with so many routes to cover. The other issue is that some of the vehicles only work on one day so if you wanted buses that only worked on Saturday then you have to be there no matter how crowded.

I was interested to read that I could have gone to the front of the queues for a particular vehicle which would have prevented the 90 minutes queuing up at Newport on the Saturday but I simply wasn't aware of it so it was a well kept secret that only some enthusiasts were in the know. I will try that next year...