A post that has been circulating on social media this week claims Bus Vannin has trialled and dumped bike fairings.

The post appears to show one of the island’s single decker buses carrying one of the fairings alongside a picture of a skip containing the bike racks and what looks like the bus’s licence plate.

It was claimed in the post that Bus Vannin had spent £20,000 on the scheme.

However, a spokesman said: ‘Bike racks were bought during the development of the Active Travel Strategy, in light of their popularity in the US and Australasia. Three were shipped from the USA at a cost of £930 each – the minimum shipment from the worldwide patent holder and manufacturer.

‘This type of bike rack is not currently used in the UK or the Isle of Man but local legislation could have been amended had the trial been successful. In the event, experiments were undertaken which found that they were unsuitable on safety grounds for use on the island.

‘Attempts were made to return them to the manufacturer but this was not an economic option.’