I've blogged about the buses in the Isle of Man on several previous occasions and I had to put finger to keyboard to comment on the announcement that Bus Vannin, the state owned bus company in the Isle of Man, will not be getting bendy buses after all. They were trialled at a cost of £10,000 but according to a press release from the bus minster made late today:
"The opportunity was taken to demonstrate the potential and following the extensive trial and independent evaluation, the Council of Ministers have agreed that they should not be progressed at the present time."
From this it sounds like the trial of the buses was a massive success whereas it was mainly red faces all round as the things had a habit of breaking down. It's just a pity it took £10k to work this out at a time when costs need to be cut. I note it's the minster making the embarrassing Uturn statement rather than the transport director but it often appears that the tail wags the dog.
Another glimmer of sense is the decision to get a couple of mini buses to use on the most rural of routes.
This only leaves us with the long running industrial dispute. No a lot has been heard of this since the drivers dropped their nuclear weapon of calling an almost two week strike over the TT period. I know from personal experience that some people found it hard to get around but ultimately it got the drivers no further and no doubt alienated whatever support from the public they might have had. Still, when have Unite ever put their members or the public before a strike. Just look at Grangemouth.
Previous bus blogs can be found here , here and here.
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