Isle of Wight Express Motor Syndicate Ltd.

Isle of Wight Express Motor Syndicate Ltd. can probably be considered to have offered the first 'island wide' motor bus network, although only for a few years in the 1900's.

The planning of the operation was thorough and included, from the outset, routes to all corners of the Island.

The service was launched on 13th April 1905 before all the planned buses had been delivered which meant the routes had to be restricted. Although the remaining buses were soon delivered, problems were encountered during the 1905 summer with the under-powered buses and it was decided to change them. The services were suspended in October 1905 to enable alternative vehicles to be obtained.

A much reduced service, mainly in the east Wight, commenced in April 1906 using more powerful buses. At the end of the summer, a much reduced 'winter timetable' was introduced.

In the following March, a further reduction in routes was made and fares were cut in a desperate attempt to survive. The services appeared to have ceased in the autumn of 1907.

With hindsight it's probably easy to say that the Isle of Wight Express Motor Syndicate failed, in part at least, to the initial over-ambitious plans to run routes all over the Island, the initial choice of unsatisfactory vehicles and local opposition, especially from those operating local horse-drawn vehicles.