THE DISCONTINUATION of the Devon Bike Bus has been hailed as a victory for Exbourne residents who campaigned to stop the bus travelling on a 'deteriorating' B-road because they said it posed a threat to other road users.

Campaigner Terrie Wright said constant pressure on Devon County Council by villagers, county councillor Bill Cann and West Devon and Torridge MP John Burnett to halt the use of the 'totally unsuitable' B3217 Exbourne to Okehampton road had finally paid off.

But the authority said the reason the pilot scheme could not be continued as a permanent service was because the buses which were specially converted to take bicycles had now exhausted their useful life. There are now proposals to carry on the bike bus concept by installing cycle racks on normal bus services, none of which use the B3217.

The Devon Bike Bus, which won a National Cycle Award for Best Facility, was piloted during the summer seasons of 1999 and 2000 between Exeter, Barnstaple, Ilfracombe and Okehampton, with the service following and providing links to the National Cycle Network.

Almost 6,000 passengers and 1,300 cycles were carried during last summer.

Mrs Wright said a nine-tonne bus running along a 7.5-tonne weight-restricted road presented a safety hazard to other road users including horse riders, walkers and cyclists.

'The buses were just too big and too frequent and totally inappropriate for a narrow, deteriorating, road like the B3217,' she said.

A petition was signed by 83 local residents who were also concerned about the effect on the environment such as verges and Devon banks and the lack of passengers using the service.

'We are delighted that the service has been withdrawn and as far as we are concerned it is a victory,' added Mrs Wright, who praised Mr Burnett and Mr Cann for their support.

Policy development officer Robin Bevis said the two bike buses were past their sell-by date and were not really roadworthy anymore without a great deal of investment.

'We are currently working up proposals to install cycle racks on the existing Barnstaple to Plymouth bus service so we have more of an integrated transport system and it would be all-year round,' he said.

'In terms of the objections from the village, I accept that there are some difficulties with narrow roads but there are narrow roads all over Devon. It is perfectly acceptable to run a bus on a B-road.'

Mr Bevis said the B3217 was not a regular bus route so it would not be included in the proposals but he could not say for sure that a bus service would not run on that road in the future.

He added that the bike bus had been very successful last year with double the amount of bikes being carried on it than the previous year.

'With all bus services it takes a couple years of operation before people start to use them regularly,' he said. 'The most use has been between the Barnstaple and Torrington section of the Devon Coast to Coast cycle route.

'We have had a lot of compliments from B&Bs, campsites and youth hostels about the bike bus who have seen the value to their businesses of something like this.'