Southern Vectis "Vectis" is the Roman name for the Isle of Wight. The buses were built by the London bus body builder, Christopher Dodson. In 1929, the company was purchased by Southern Railway and was incorporated as "The Southern Vectis Omnibus Company Limited". In 1948, Southern Railway was nationalised and then in 1969, Southern Vectis became part of the National Bus Company. In 1986, with deregulation after the passing of the Transport Act 1985, the business was sold in a management buy out. Five new operators entered the market on the Isle of Wight. In 1987, Southern Vectis started Badger Vectis in
Badger Vectis Poole bus station however, which was described as a major problem. Other issues for the company which emerged were reliability problems with its older Bristol REs, as well as recruitment issues, and the relatively higher cost of crew operation. Despite their garage rental arrangement, by the beginning of March 1988, Badger Vectis also began to compete directly with Yellow Buses, having previously avoided their routes. The financial health of Badger Vectis declined due to its problems, and the retaliation by Wilts & Dorset. In a development described as an implosion, Badger Vectis gave notice to the traffic commissioner that it