A work stoppage by around 30 maintenance staff at the Public Transport Board has been resolved after management agreed to revoke a two-day suspension for a worker caught driving a bus at the Palmetto Road HQ while using a cell phone.

PTB head Dan Simmons said the action, which began at around 8 a.m., was over within three hours and did not affect service to passengers. Maintenance staff were back at work after talks involving the Bermuda Industrial Union.

Mr. Simmons told The Royal Gazette that research showed that drivers using cell phones suffered an attention span loss equivalent to that experienced by those who had drunk two beers or one shot.

"Cell phone use degrades an individual's response time - it becomes impaired."

Meanwhile Mr. Simmons said some progress had been made on boosting bus services.

In the February Budget speech Premier Ewart Brown promised Government would expand its bus fleet by 25 buses as, from April 1, routes seven, eight, ten and eleven would begin to run buses every 15 minutes from 6 a.m. to midnight in a bid to curb congestion and drunk driving.

However Mr. Simmons said the full plan had not yet been implemented although extra buses were running after 8 p.m. He said a new expanded schedule would probably be out in the new year but he was reluctant to discuss details.