STUDENTS set to enroll on new courses at Exeter College were not awarding top marks to the under-fire bus service from Okehampton to the city after they almost missed important interviews. Friends Vicky Stephens and Eleanor Emuff were waiting in Okehampton for the 10am First Devon and Cornwall bus service to Exeter on Monday. Vicky?s mother Wendy Raymond, said: ?When the bus arrived, it was full and they were not allowed to get on.? Fearing they would miss their enrolment interviews for their college courses, the teenagers then contacted Mrs Raymond. ?I then had to drive back into Okehampton from work and take them into Exeter myself. They are both 16 and have just finished their GCSEs so they haven?t got access to cars at the moment. ?We always used to have a reliable bus service from Okehampton to Exeter. They are just youngsters trying to set out in life, they need an effective bus service.? Vicky said there were three other girls who had to go to Exeter to enrol on college courses who were also left behind in Okehampton by the bus. Last month, a town councillor highlighted the plight of Okehampton bus passengers who had been unable to board the 10am X9 service on a Monday morning because the vehicle was overcrowded. First say capacity requirements, particularly during summer, can be unpredictable. The company made alterations to the timetable of the X9 service at the end of July.
