Not running route 'short-sighted', authority says

A decision not to run buses on a route serving a folk village and a beauty spot in the south of the Isle of Man has been described as "short-sighted" by a local authority.

The Department of Infrastructure (DOI) last year applied to scrap the seasonal route that runs from Port Erin to the Sound as it was no longer financially viable.

The latest Bus Vannin timetables have not included the route for the second year running.

Chairman of Arbory and Rushen Commissioners Peter Gunn said the DOI's decision "undermines rural connectivity, the local economy and the island's own tourism strategy".

Last week, the Road Transport Licensing Committee (RTLC) said it had been advised by the Attorney General's Chambers that it had no legal powers to stop the bus operator from terminating the service.

The seasonal route had been run between late May and the last weekend before the start of the autumn school term each year since 2021, but was scrapped last year.

The local authority was "dismayed that such a vital route" had been "allowed to disappear without proper consultation" with local authorities or "recognition of the growing demand from both residents and tourists", Gunn said.

Noting that a route to Niarbyl, a rural tourist spot in the west of the island, continued to operate, Gunn said it "feels as though key decisions are being made in silos, without any consultation between departments".

The local authority said that both Cregneash and the Sound were "key" tourist sites, and the seasonal bus service had played a "critical role in enabling access to one of the most stunning parts of our island".

There had been a "clear failure of joined up government", and Arbory and Rushen Commissioners urged the department to "listen to the communities it serves" and reinstate the route, he added.

The BBC has contacted the DOI for comment.

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