Bus honours windsurfing inventor

A new ADL Enviro200 on Stagecoach’s 30/31 route in Hayling has been named Peter Chilvers, after the inventor of windsurfing. The operator ran a competition to name the bus, one of five new vehicles, which was won by Gil Carter. Peter Chilvers is a former Hayling Island resident who was an inventor, engineer and promoter of sailing and windsurfing. Three more names were selected to be displayed on the buses, including: The Coppist, after the WW2 heroes from the Island; The Hayling Billy, after the steam train and The Olive Leaf, the first lifeboat for the Island. Local Operations Manager for Stagecoach, Bob Jackson, presented Gil with his prize of a Kindle Fire HD Tablet.

Stagecoach’s Marketing Officer, Steve Thorpe, said, ‘Visitors to the event were invited to suggest a name that was synonymous with the Island. We wanted to give our new vehicles a “local” identity that both we and the local residents who catch our buses can be proud of.’