Bus Vannin carried a record number of passengers during this year’s TT Festival.
The total of 199,828 passenger journeys from Friday 26 May to Sunday 11 June represented an increase of 19,358 compared with the same period in 2016 (180,470) and 28,881 more than in 2015 (170,947). There was a corresponding upturn in revenue, with the on bus takings exceeding £230,000.
The busiest day during TT 2017 was Tuesday 6 June when 18,000 people travelled by bus.
TT passenger figures for the Isle of Man’s heritage transport attractions were also encouraging, with 13,639 people using the Manx Electric Railway, 7,720 the steam railway and 6,691 the Douglas Bay Horse Trams.
The generally poor conditions for TT 2017 had an impact on the Snaefell Mountain Railway services, with the total number of passengers (9,862) down on the previous year when the Island experienced fine weather.
Jason Moorhouse, Member of the Department of Infrastructure with political responsibility for Public Transport, said:
‘TT represents the busiest time of year for Bus Vannin and a special timetable is put in place to meet the additional demand, including more frequent services and stops at popular campsites. The fact that Bus Vannin enjoyed a record-breaking TT despite the disruptions caused by the weather and the associated delays in racing is very impressive. This included rescheduling services, often at short notice, to meet changing times of peak demand.’
Ian Longworth, Director of Public Transport, added:
‘We will review the performance of Bus Vannin during this year’s TT period and look at ways to further improve our services ahead of the 2018 festival.’
