THE safety of bus stops, the rearranged Newport Bus Station and concerns about route 38 were discussed at the Bus User Group's public meeting.

More than 40 bus users gathered at Newport Methodist Church to receive updates from Southern Vectis and the Isle of Wight Council.

Stewart Chandler, transport officer, said there was not much to report as there were a couple of items on the agenda yet to be discussed, but he confirmed the council were working on a bid to make improvements to the Ryde interchange.

General manager of Southern Vectis, Richard Tyldsley, updated the group on the changes to summer bus routes.

He said there was little change on most of the routes with only minor reliability problems that needed to be ironed out.

Speaking about the point of contention, route 38 — a regular loop from Newport to Carisbrooke and back, he said: "There are some reliability concerns with the route. We're trying to work through ways we can improve the service.

He suggested the company may try a new route or a merger with route 39.

One Carisbrooke resident said he was concerned about changes to route 38 as the bus was a lifeline for him.

He said: "I'm very worried about being taken out the loop. There are a lot of elderly people here and if the route were to go, they would be left stranded. I would rather wait ten minutes for a bus than not have a bus at all."

Dina Young said she was worried about the safety of bus stops around the Island.

She said many areas were too small and backed straight onto banks, meaning she sometimes had to wait in the road while lorries drove past at high speeds.

Mr Tyldsley said the bus stops were the responsibility of Island Roads and advised Ms Young to e-mail them, although stated they had not heard this kind of feedback before.

Problems with the new bus station layout were also raised but Mr Tyldsley told the meeting the layout had been carefully thought out and the space at Ryde's route 9 spot — the main problem — had been extended

Mr Tyldsley also said the Island Breezer would have an extended run until mid-September this year.