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Bus service in Bermuda has much room for improvement. That doesn't mean the service is bad. Bermuda's buses are clean, the seats are fairly comfortable and I'm told that all but the oldest buses now have air conditioning.

Buses are more efficient people-movers than cars. They take up less road space per passenger than cars do, and use less fuel per person, per mile. If buses went where people wanted to go at the time they wished, we could wean most drivers off their cars. Route penetration has improved with the introduction of minibus services, notably in Somerset and St David's, though the latter route is out of service for now.

The existing mentality of a for-profit service, however, works against customer-centered public transportation. This kind of thinking provides service only where and when ridership has proven to be profitable, and discontinues service to areas and at times when ridership might be low. It's a self-fulfilling prophecy because where there's no service, there's no possibility to discover the real ridership potential.

This dearth of customer-centered thinking shows itself in other ways. Not so long ago, for example, when Blackwatch Pass was closed a couple of weekends for tree-clearing, Spanish Point buses were rerouted via St John's and Berkeley Roads. Unfortunately, potential riders at stops on the North Shore Road weren't adequately notified and some waited in vain for a bus that wasn't ever going to come - not that day anyway. Similar inadequately announced interruptions in ferry service have left travellers stranded.

The most frequent complaint I hear about the bus service is the exact change requirement for the bus fare. Of course, having passengers deposit exact change means the driver doesn't have to carry cash, which avoids a myriad of potential problems ranging from accounting procedures for drivers to the temptation for thieves. The service has attempted to make the exact change requirement less onerous - at one time the bus fare could only be paid in coins - but it still is a serious stumbling block, especially for unsuspecting tourists who may decide to use the bus on the spur of the moment only to find that they are refused service for want of the precise fare amount.

This is the best reason to provide free public transportation. Without the money requirement there'd be no surprises for bus-using visitors, no temptation to steal from or cheat the drivers, and no reason to vandalise parked buses looking for cash. Administration costs would be reduced too.

Another quantum improvement would be the integration of the entire public transportation system - buses, minibuses and ferries - into a seamless service. Integrated scheduling would be a good start, as would parking for cars, and motor- and pedal-bikes at all major stops.

Bermuda's buses mostly run on schedule but increasingly, buses are observed traveling way over the speed limit, even the unwritten 50kph limit. It's rare to meet a bus on a corner these days and not find its offside wheels well into the oncoming lane due to excessive speed. The regularity with which buses are pushing the speed limit envelope leads me to believe they're being scheduled to do so. That may satisfy schedulers but it's dangerous for the rest of us.

Top of my wish list is buses equipped to carry bicycles, and cycle parking facilities at key bus and ferry stops.

Meanwhile, let's invest in skills development such as customer service training and a customer-centered mindset for all public transport workers, top to bottom.[[In-content Ad]]

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