Bermuda Real can now confirm that the island’s public bus service will be suspended temporarily tomorrow to facilitate a meeting with all staff due to “an inordinate amount of bus cancellations”.
According to our sources, a big part of the problem has to do with the fact that the Department of Public Transportation reportedly has no, or very few, if any, replacement tyres in stock for the buses they have.
Bermuda Real obtained a copy of the memo sent out to all Bus Operations Staff earlier today from Jonelle Christoper, the Acting Assistant Director of DPT and copied to the union’s Executive Team.
The memo said: “Recently, there has been an inordinate amount of bus cancellations due to a shortage of resources available to provide the regular bus schedule.”
But Bermuda Real understands that merely amounts DPT code for NO TYRES IN STOCK!
The “shortage of resources” they are referring to has everything to do with more than 30 buses out of service one day last week that are in need of new tyres.
The good news was that number was down to just over 20 buses out of service because of NO TYRES the following day.
As a result of the main factors causing the “inordinate amount of bus cancellations” in recent weeks, Ms Christopher scheduled a meeting for all Bus Operations Staff at 10am tomorrow (Apr 12) to 1pm.
“The meeting will start at 10:45am at the Bermuda Industrial Union to discuss short term solutions to boost the bus service level,” she said.
“We look forward to collaborating with you as this is a critical time for the team to turn things around,” she added.
The agenday will cover:
- State of the Bus Service
- Proposed Solutions &
- BIU Members Meeting
It was also noted that “the presentation will be deliberately brief to allow sufficient time for discussion and a swift resumption of the bus service”.
Ms Christopher concluded: “I look forward to seeing you there.”
But what she is likely to hear is anyone’s guess at this point, based on what this journalist has been hearing about this new fleet of electric buses – not to mention NO TYRES for the current fleet they have.
To make matters worse, the DPT announced another slew of bus cancellations affecting evening bus commuters this evening.
The following cancellations were announced just after 4pm:
| Route | From | Destination | Time |
| 4-nj | Hamilton | Spanish Point | 4:00 pm |
| 4-ns | Hamilton | Spanish Point | 4:00 pm |
| 7 | Hamilton | Dockyard | 4:00 pm |
| 11 | Hamilton | St. George’s | 4:00 pm |
| 7 | Barnes Corner | Hamilton | 4:11 pm |
| 4-ns | Spanish Point | Hamilton | 4:12 pm |
| 11 | St. George’s | Hamilton | 4:12 pm |
| 3 | Hamilton | Grotto Bay | 4:15 pm |
| 3 | Grotto Bay | Hamilton | 4:15 pm |
| 1 | Hamilton | St. George’s | 4:15 pm |
| 4-sj | Hamilton | Spanish Point | 4:16 pm |
| 6 | St. David’s | St. George’s | 4:19 pm |
| 7 | Dockyard | Hamilton | 4:20 pm |
| 11 | Hamilton | St. George’s | 4:25 pm |
| 8 | Hamilton | Barnes Corner | 4:24 pm |
| 4-ns | Spanish Point | Hamilton | 4:28 pm |
| 11 | St. George’s | Hamilton | 4:30 pm |
| 7 | Hamilton | Dockyard | 4:30 pm |
| 11 | Hamilton | St. George’s | 4:35 pm |
| 8 | Dockyard | Hamilton | 4:35 pm |
| 7 | Hamilton | Barnes Corner | 4:40 pm |
| 9 | Hamilton | Prospect | 4:45 pm |
| 11 | St. George’s | Hamilton | 4:45 pm |
| 9 | Prospect | Hamilton | 4:55 pm |
| 5 | Hamilton | Pond Hill | 4:50 pm |
| 7 | Hamilton | Watford Bridge | 4:50 pm |
| 7 | Dockyard | Hamilton | 4:50 pm |
| 1 | St. George’s | Hamilton | 4:52 pm |
| 11 | St. George’s | Hamilton | 5:00 pm |
| 3 | Grotto Bay | Hamilton | 5:00 pm |
| 7 | Hamilton | St. George’s | 5:00 pm |
| 7 | Barnes Corner | Hamilton | 5:04 pm |
| 2 | Hamilton | Ord Road | 5:05 pm |
| 8 | Dockyard | Hamilton | 5:05 pm |
| 8 | Hamilton | Dockyard | 5:10 pm |
| 3 | St. George’s | Hamilton | 5:12 pm |
| 1 | Hamilton | Grotto Bay | 5:15 pm |
| 9 | Hamilton | Prospect | 5:15 pm |
| 10 | Hamilton | St. George’s | 5:15 pm |
| 8 | Barnes Corner | Hamilton | 5:19 pm |
| 7 | Dockyard | Hamilton | 5:20 pm |
| 5 | Hamilton | Pond Hill | 5:20 pm |
| 2 | Hamilton | Ord Road | 5:25 pm |
| 9 | Prospect | Hamilton | 5:25 pm |
| 5 | Pond Hill | Hamilton | 5:30 pm |
| 11 | St. George’s | Hamilton | 5:30 pm |
| 11 | Hamilton | St. George’s | 5:35 pm |
| 3 | Hamilton | Grotto Bay | 5:45 pm |
| 9 | Hamilton | Prospect | 5:45 pm |
| 2 | Hamilton | Ord Road | 5:45 pm |
| 8 | Hamilton | Dockyard | 5:45 pm |
| 7 | Hamilton | Barnes Corner | 5:45 pm |
| 11 | St. George’s | Hamilton | 5:45 pm |
| 5 | Hamilton | Pond Hill | 5:50 pm |
| 9 | Prospect | Hamilton | 5:55 pm |
| 4- sj | Hamilton | Spanish Point | 6:00 pm |
| 5 | Pond Hill | Hamilton | 6:00 pm |
| 4-ns | Spanish Point | Hamilton | 6:12 pm |
| 10 | St. George’s | Hamilton | 6:15 pm |
| 8 | Barnes Corner | Hamilton | 6:19 pm |
| 5 | Hamilton | Pond Hill | 6:20 pm |
| 7 | Dockyard | Hamilton | 6:20 pm |
| 8 | Dockyard | Hamilton | 6:35 pm |
| 8 | Dockyard | Hamilton | 7:05 pm |
| 7 | Hamilton | Barnes Corner | 7:15 pm |
| 8 | Barnes Corner | Hamilton | 7:49 pm |
Still no official word from DPT. We’ll have more in subsequent reports.
