RUMOURS that an entire bus route between Minehead and Porlock Weir was being axed were quashed this week with news a new operator was stepping in to provide the service. Passengers were fuming after being told buses would no longer run between Minehead and Porlock Weir, only to discover the route had, in fact, been given to another bus operator. A spokesman for Somerset County Council confirmed the authority had awarded the contract for the route currently covered by First's service 38 to Quantock Motor Services. The new service 39 will begin on May 29 and will see some changes being made to both the route and pick-up times. Under a revised timetable, the first bus will leave Porlock Weir at 7.59am Monday to Saturday, with a return service leaving Minehead's Tesco at 8.55am. The last bus of the day will leave Minehead at 5.25pm, arriving in Porlock Weir at 5.54pm with a return bus leaving Porlock Weir at 5.55pm and arriving at The Parade in Minehead at 6.14pm. Somerset County Council said it had yet to formally announce the service changes but would soon be issuing advice to passengers. But with the hand-over from First to Quantock Motor Services just days away, many passengers had been concerned the route would be axed altogether. Viv Wagstaff, of Whitworth Road, Minehead, said she used the current service 38 to get to work in Porlock and had been told by more than one bus driver that the route was being cut. But after several telephone calls, she discovered the route was not being axed after all. She told the Free Press: "All we were being told was that we would not be able to get a bus from May 28 and I was so angry. "No-one seemed to know what was happening and all First did was confirm they were no longer running the service. "I've since discovered that Quantock Motor Services will be taking over the route, which is great news." The company already operates the popular service 300 bus between Minehead and Ilfracombe.