Passengers were left stranded last night as bus services ground to a halt across the Island.

And according to bus drivers, there could be further disruption to services today.

Unconfirmed reports suggest 15 drivers were fired yesterday, although this was denied by Government last night.

One driver told The Royal Gazette: "Fifteen drivers have been fired. It just happened this evening and I'm sure there will be cancellations of services tomorrow as 15 drivers is a lot of staff to lose."

There are approximately 140 public bus drivers but they are currently in the midst of industrial action, on a work-to-rule basis. This means that they will not do overtime or cover for absent colleagues.

Last night it appeared drivers could resort to further action. The bus operator, who refused to be named, told The Royal Gazette: "We're expecting further industrial action because of this. We have a general union meeting (BIU) at midday but I think this meeting might be carried forward now.

"It's going to make things even worse because we're on a work-to-rule and so can't cover these drivers' routes as overtime. They won't have enough people to do all the work."

The public bus operators' work-to-rule began in February. Drivers cited safety concerns at Hamilton Bus Terminal as the reason, due to a series of accidents resulting from motorists driving through Washington Street.

The driver who spoke to this newspaper believed his colleagues had been punished for following a directive to avoid reversing out of Hamilton Bus Terminal without a supervisor to act as a banksman. He added: "Tomorrow we will find out what management is going to do in terms of services but I'm sure there will be cancellations."

Government released a statement last night, which read: "Today, Department of Public Transportation (DPT) is advising the public that due to the ongoing work-to-rule by bus operators, bus service for this evening (Wednesday) is suspended.

"The DPT apologises for any inconvenience this may cause residents and visitors. The DPT expects regular services to resume in the morning."

DPT director Mr. Simmons said: "We are working with the Union and the bus operators to resolve this issue, to prevent any further interruption of service to the public."

A Government spokeswoman told The Royal Gazette: "No bus operators were fired. The suspension of bus service this evening is due to the on-going work-to-rule."