An article in the May 2015 edition of Buses magazine praises the Isle of Man's bus service for its smart buses, punctuality, cheerful drivers and provision of bus shelters.
Writer Bob Hind spent a full day travelling around the Island last September, arriving at the IoM Airport just after 9am and returning in time for his 6.50pm flight home. Next month's front cover promotes the feature as
'Silver service – Isle of Man in a day'.
Mr Hind writes:
'If there were a national award for bus shelters, the Isle of Man would win it....The Manx Government obviously believes in protecting its bus travellers.'
He also praises bus vannin's website for being 'well stocked with information, up to date timetables and maps'. He found:
'As well as the propensity for bus shelters, most stops also carried bus departure information so I was unlikely to get lost.'
Departing the airport on board a service 8 bus to Peel, he mentions the
'smart livery on most of the 71-strong fleet' and the 'cheerful driver'. From Peel he boarded a number 4 to travel to Niarbyl, returning to Peel after a chat with its driver then on to Douglas via Foxdale. At Douglas he caught a double decker to Ramsey via Noble's Hospital, Peel and 'the wonderfully named Cronk-y-Voddy'.
Mr Hind fitted in a visit to the Manx Electric Railway terminus while in Ramsey and then took a 19C to Jurby. He returned to Douglas on the 3 service and travelled into Castletown before returning to the airport.
Mr Hind's summary of bus vannin is:
'For once my schedule had worked without problem and I was certainly impressed by the bus fleet and its service levels. The Isle of Man is a bit of a transport museum itself with its steam railway, electric railway, mountain railway and horse-drawn trams but its bus fleet is definitely up-to-date and well worth experiencing.'
Alf Lloyd, Isle of Man Transport's Head of Operations, commented:
'We value feedback on our services and it is pleasing to receive praise from Bob Hind who was an experienced and quality driven regional managing director for Arriva bus and trains. His article paints a good picture of our bus network and support services and reflects all the hard work put in by our staff.'
