A FIVE-mile route taken by the Devon Bike Bus between Okehampton and Exbourne is to be reviewed following concerns raised by local residents.
People living along the route on the B3217 say the road is totally unsuitable for vehicles of that size.
Their concerns were heard at a meeting of the West Devon partnership committee on Monday when members were made aware of a petition consisting of 83 names against the route. Pleas have been made to adopt a more suitable alternative.
Fears have been expressed for the safety of children, the safety of other road users including cyclists and walkers, the possible delays in response times of emergency services to the outlying villages and damage to the rural environment.
Local services officer Tony Lawrence explained he had driven the route himself. He had travelled on the bike bus and had met very little traffic along that length of road.
Mr Lawrence hoped to be in position shortly to implement an order preventing any heavy goods vehicles using that road which would help the situation further. He said the route had been approved by the Traffic Commission and Sustrans.
He told the meeting it would be very difficult now to change the route and suggested it could be reconsidered at the end of the season.
The five-mile stretch along the B3217 forms part of the Devon Bike Bus service which carries both passengers and bicycles and covers an area from Exeter to Barnstaple via Okehampton, Hatherleigh, Great Torrington and Bideford.
Bill Cann, chairman of South Zeal Parish Council, said he had nothing against cyclists but the bus was in the same position as it was last year in that no-one was travelling on it.
'I have followed it 17 miles and it did not pick up anyone or drop anyone off,' he said. 'Hundreds of pounds of county money is being spent on it that could be used on re-surfacing the county roads.'
The meeting was told the initiative was an experiment and it would take sometime before it it could be deemed a success or not.
'Mighty oaks from little acorns grow,' said one man present at the meeting. 'People can look at a new bus a long time before they say that they will use it.'
Councillor Coleen Herriman proposed that the route be reviewed and be reconsidered again at the next meeting of the partnership. This was agreed.
Leading campaigner to get the bus re-routed Terrie Wright has welcomed the move by the West Devon Partnership Committee.
She said she had monitored the buses during National Bike Week and of 24 vehicles actually recorded 18 were empty.