Wightrider + Beer & Steam boost Island’s newest bus route

Tuesday 13th October 2026 I popped over to the Isle of Wight on Saturday to sample yet another new bus route – this one introduced on 27th September by Southern Vectis thanks to the Isle of Wight Council’s Bus Service Improvement Plan. Route 33 runs between Newport and Ryde bringing a bus service back to the village of Havenstreet after an absence of 11 years and, as a bonus, visitors to the Isle of Wight Steam Railway’s main station at the southern end of the village is also now reconnected back to the Island’s bus network. This was all the more pertinent at the weekend as the Isle of Wight Bus Museum was holding its weekend Wightrider event involving a fleet of heritage buses providing free-to-travel shuttles between Ryde railway station and the Museum as well as circular tours of the north east corner of the Island, while the Steam Railway was running a Beer & Steam event attracting many extra visitors. Not surprisingly therefore, fledgling route 33 being run by a 25 seat Optare…