We went to Strand Street to ask the Manx public what their experiences of public transport were in the island.

It comes after Infrastructure Minister Chris Thomas MHK suggested the use of charities to fund and manage the island’s ‘historic railways’.

Tom and Linda Boster, on holiday from Nappa, California, spoke to the Examiner about their experience so far in the island.

Mr Boster said: ‘The quality of the buses is perfect.

‘What was most impressive was, as an example, coming from the airport to the Empress Hotel, the bus driver went out of his route to drop us off at the closest area to the hotel.’

Mrs Boster said: ‘When we were getting the tram back to Douglas, there was maybe five minutes when we were at the bus terminal and the agent called and held the tram for us to get there on time and make the trip.

‘The whole experience has been really wonderful.’

Mr Boster added: ‘The highlight was that little tram, which also has a very professional ticket-taker.’

Keith and Deborah Herrington gave us their opinion about the future of the trains.

Mr Herrington said: ‘I do think that the trains should be government-owned because that’s such a highly-rated tourist attraction over here and brings people to the island.’

Mrs Herrington added: ‘I think they’ve always got to make sure it’s available.

‘They could almost do with being more frequent in the summer.

‘I think it’s quite difficult to work out the times on the timetable.

‘For a complete stranger to the island, it would be quite difficult for them to understand.’

The couple, originally from Gloucestershire, England, also said how much they love the buses.

Mrs Herrington said: ‘The buses are very clean and very efficient.’

Mr Herrington said: ‘The trams are also fantastic.

‘It was very well-organised, obviously because it’s a key thing for the island, tourism-wise.’

Peter Pierce from Peel said: ‘I would have thought there was sufficient service for the amount of use that they get.

‘They’re a great thing as they bring tourists to the island.’

We also asked him about the proposal to put the railways in the hands of volunteers and he said: ‘I think it’s lovely of the volunteers to run those things.

‘However, if you’re going to put on a public service, it should be publicly-funded, so I think they should remain in public ownership.’

Liz Harrison, from Onchan said: ‘When I’ve got people staying with me, I usually take them on the train.

‘I used to go to school on the train and it was a big excitement for us coming to Douglas on the train, but that’s all gone now.

‘And I don’t think it would be feasible to see that return.’

We asked her how Chris Thomas MHK’s proposal to have the team railways be run similarly to the Groudle Glen Railway would work and she said: ‘The Groudle Glen group seems to work very well with volunteers.

‘I think that would be worth trying but whether you would get enough enthusiasts, I don’t know.

‘You would have to have people who are prepared to give up their time.’