Passengers commuting on the morning ferry from Watford, Cavello and Rockaway have described being treated like “cattle” in crowded and unventilated conditions.

Others have complained about late ferry arrivals and bathroom and air conditioning facilities that have been faulty for a year.

Barbie King has been using the ferry service in Bermuda for 20 years and said that her most recent experiences aboard the ferry were “horrendous”.

She told The Royal Gazette: “These guys are rarely on time — they changed the schedule to 8am and they show up at 8.20. And then, by the time I get to Rockaway, it is so hot because the air conditioner is not working.

“We just feel like we are herded on like a bunch of cattle, they don’t really care that there is no air conditioning, the bathrooms rarely work and often there is standing room only.

“They have taken away our own dedicated Watford and Cavello ferry that used to go straight into Hamilton so we are now on the ferry for 40 minutes twice a day.

“This is not a third world country — you can go to Mexico and get a better service.

“I don’t understand why we can’t get the bigger ferry — we all have to be on it for an hour and a half a day.

“They upped the fare which we were okay with as it was overdue but then they turned around and cut our schedule in half. I understand our tourism product is very important but so are the commuters — we are the ones who use this service all year round,

“I have consistently been turning up late for work. I asked one of the guys do I have to get a 7 o’clock ferry in order to get to work for 9.”

One taxpayer Beverley Connell was so fed up with the situation that she contacted transport Minister Shawn Crockwell and his permanent secretary Francis Richardson in May to demand action. She said that while both politicians heard her concerns, little appears to have been done.

Ms Connell told The Royal Gazette: “I feel like there is just such a breakdown in management and the civil service employees get a bad rap half the time but I think for the most part it is poor management accountability and there are people sitting in chairs with titles attached to them and they are not efficiently doing their job.

“Public transportation is going to be hugely important as we move towards the America’s Cup event and we must have the transportation system working efficiently.”

In response to this paper’s questions about longstanding complaints of inadequate service, a government spokeswoman said: “The Department of Marine and Ports Services can confirm this morning all ferry trips servicing Watford Bridge, Cavello Bay and Rockaway operated on time. The vessel in service was the Tempest which has a maximum capacity of 200 passengers. The first and second trips picked up 110 and 135 passengers respectively from Watford Bridge, Cavello Bay and Rockaway.

“Both toilets on-board were and still are fully functional. A defect with the air-conditioning was reported this morning by crew and following the commuter trips completion at 8.45am the vessel returned to the depot for repairs. The defect was repaired and the vessel went back into service at 9:45am providing additional service between Hamilton and Dockyard.”

Speaking in response to claims of overcrowding aboard the vessel, the spokeswoman added: “The Department of Marine and Ports recently reduced the number of ferries used for the Green Route morning commuter service, as it was not sustainable to operate a larger vessel or two vessels on a route which can be adequately serviced by the Tempest Class of vessel with an addition 50 seats remaining empty. The Department of Marine and Port Services remains committed to providing safe, reliable and cost effective service to the ferry riding public.”

Shadow Transport Minister Lawrence Scott said he had suggested to Government that ferries be serviced during the quiet season.

“I can’t help but be embarrassed for Minister Crockwell being that it has been less than a week since The Royal Gazette reported my concerns about the infestation of roaches on the public buses.

“For the past two years, during every budget debate, I openly suggested to the Minster that during the slow season, he and his team should take ferries out of service to have repairs, servicing and preventive maintenance performed on the fleet, although this may mean running a reduced schedule during the winter months, I believe that would allow for a more streamlined and efficient public transportation infrastructure during the heat of our peak season. Currently we are only at the start of our peak season and already we are witnessing first-hand the physical deterioration of our public transportation infrastructure.”