the Ministry of Transport for the coming year.

At a meeting held at Purvis Primary School in Warwick late last week, he said "My Ministry is about cars, busses, boats and planes, relating to TCD, the PTB, Marine and Ports, and the Airport,'' and outlined some of what the public could expect from his Ministry into 2001.

On the front burner for the Ministry is new tint legislation that Dr. Brown expected to table in the House of Assembly within the next three months.

The legislation would relax the current laws on the grade of tint allowed and in a new initiative, it would place the onus for installing legal tint with the installers.

Dr. Brown said he did not expect any problems with the new legislation and said it was likely they would see what the restrictions were in other jurisdictions of a similar climate and see what policies they followed.

Also on the front burner is a plan to make it easier for visitors coming to Bermuda to drive using the license form their country of origin.

Dr. Brown said it was unfair that Bermudians were afforded the privilege of driving in other countries with a Bermuda License, but visitors to the Island must obtain a Bermuda license if they wish to drive a car.

Legislation requiring the use of seatbelts is also expected to be tabled this year.

Also on the cards is a review of the size of cars that will be imported to the Island as manufacturers are changing the specifications of the cars they make, and this needed to be taken into account.

This would mean that cars may no longer need to be modified, meaning they could retain their bumpers and owners could avoid paying huge bills for body work every time their car is bumped or scratched.

Dr. Brown also expected to table legislation controlling vehicle emissions within the next 60 days in an effort to protect Bermuda's environment.

The plan is to test vehicles already on the Island to determine a benchmark that all incoming and existing vehicles would have to comply with, although Dr. Brown said that most vehicles arriving on the Island were built using modern technology and fitted with catalytic converters.

And he said an opportunity for a Bermudian entrepreneur to develop an emissions testing service would be created by this legislation.

In the area of Public Transportation, Dr. Brown said 20 new buses had been ordered and would arrive over the next year and a half.

He added that a beneficial currency exchange meant that several additional busses were ordered at no additional cost.

The new buses were promised to be affordable, convenient, and comfortable.

Also in operation at the PTB depot in Devonshire was a new bus washing system that cut the time taken to wash a bus from one hour to about ten minutes.

Within PTB management, Herman Basden recently retired after 40 years of service in the department, and Assistant Director, Dan Simmons is currently the Acting Director.

Taxi's have also been a hot topic in Dr. Brown's ministry and he has been working closely with Bermuda Industrial Union president Derrick Burgess to establish a much needed Central Dispatch System that has been talked about for several years.

Dr. Brown said something needed to be done as locals and visitors alike often struggled to get one of the Island's 600 taxis to pick them up within an hour, or at all.

And he expected to formally announce an agreement within the next two weeks whereby the Union accepts responsibility for managing taxis through a Central Dispatch System.

It will then be mandatory for each taxi to have a system installed in the vehicle which includes a Global Positioning System so that the central dispatch will know exactly where each vehicle is at any point in time, and when a request is made for a taxi, the dispatch will send the closest taxi -- cutting waiting times drastically -- and improving access to taxis and providing an equal playing field for each operator.

Dr. Brown said: "I believe that if the system works like it is supposed to, no Bermudian or visitor should have to wait longer than ten or 15 minutes for a taxi.'' He also said that taxi operators had a Public Service Vehicle license, and the first two words are exactly what they should be doing, serving the public, and his Ministry was determined to meet the unmet needs.

The Ministry is also very excited and deeply involved in preparations for the arrival of the first of four new ferries.

The Ministry of Works and Engineering has been creating the infrastructure in the new dock facilities, and much work has been done in fulfilling access and parking needs at each stop.

They have also been altering the current schedule and canvassing for public opinion as to exactly what commuters need and want.

Dr. Brown said: "The boats belong to the people, and we will try to satisfy most of the people most of the time, but you can't satisfy all the people all the time.'' The aim of the improved ferry service is to alleviate some of the congestion on the Island's roads and Dr. Brown hopes 20 percent of car owners will shift to use the ferry service by making the system more user friendly.

Starting in January, there will be a ten month publicity campaign aimed at getting commuters onto the ferry.

The campaign will include a "name the ferry'' contest -- the first for school children -- and the second for senior citizens.

Dr. Brown hopes this will stimulate public interest for when the first ferry is delivered in September 2001.

The Airport is also high on the list for improvements at the Ministry of Transport, with one of the critical goals being to increase air traffic and linkages.

And a priority is to create a Bermuda Florida link so that Bermudian's no longer need to fly north in order to travel south, and he hoped a link could be established with Orlando rather than Miami, which has been the focus in the past, including by the former Government.

Under the current Government, an additional two flights have been implemented, but the TWA flight from St. Louis has since ceased.

Dr. Brown also said his Ministry was in negotiations with Air Jamaica for Bermuda to be the stopover point for Germany.

Three months ago, the Ministry received clearance from the U.K. to control their own charter policy, meaning the decisions about the Island's air traffic rested in the hands of the Ministry of Transport.

Dr. Brown said this was a huge move forward as the Ministry now has far more control over who we allow to fly to the Island, whereas before, it had to be approved by the British Government.

Dr. Brown also said he was looking at ways of encouraging carriers to decrease their fares, but conceded that one of the few possible ways was to initiate our own airline service out of the country, and he said discussions with relevant parties has been informative.

Changes at the Airport terminal are also afoot, with the awarding of a catering contract to Cahow Ltd. who are now operating the food stand at the airport.

There are also plans to improve commercial retail opportunities for Bermudians that would benefit from the plan to make the airport busier.

Dr. Brown hoped this would create a domino effect with entrepreneurs setting up businesses such as jewellry stores, much like at other international airports.