Independent Bus Services on the Isle of Wight

Mark Chessell tells the fascinating story of the Isle of Wight's independent bus operators and manufacturers. Several books have been written about Southern Vectis and early bus operators up to 1919 but this is the first illustrated story of independent bus operators and manufacturers on the island to cover the period from 1895 to 1986. Mark has spent many years researching this subject. He discovered that there have been more than fifty firms operating local bus services. Tracing the key phases of growth and decline the author provides an account of this aspect of island transport that has been largely forgotten. The photographs provide a fairly detailed picture of the types of vehicles the independent operators used and show the evolution of bus design. Most are black and white but there are also some colour images. There are several appendices including brief details of the known operators, the sale of operators' route licences, and some examples of early timetables. 144 pages A4 landscape hardback.