The Public Transport Board is to introduce psychological testing to weed out would-be bus drivers with attitude problems.

But Public Transport Board (PTB) director Dan Simmons was unable to say if Government was going to come good on promises for free buses and more routes running later, because recruitment is likely to be affected by the looming recession.

In June, Works Minister Derrick Burgess said free bus and ferry rides could be in place by the autumn.

Earlier this year children were granted free public transport.

Yesterday Premier and Transport Minister Ewart Brown's spokesman said the Ministry would create a timetable for free transport for adults "after officials have fully weighed the impact and benefits of the student phase".

The spokesman added: "We are happy to report free public transport for students has received overwhelmingly positive feedback from the public."

The 2007 Budget promised buses would run every 15 minutes from 6 a.m. to midnight on routes seven, eight, ten and 11.

Asked about progress, Mr. Simmons told The Royal Gazette: "It is a bit problematic, but we are working on it."

He said PTB had already moved to an electronic dispatch system which monitors where buses are.

But he said the lack of manpower and the need to get an agreement with the union was holding up the next stage.

Asked about funding for new staff he said: "We will not have a full budget next year so we will have to make adjustments in the schedule."

Getting more buses running later might necessitate "robbing Peter to pay Paul" said Mr. Simmons.

Test runs of up to two months will assess which neighbourhoods get the extra services and which do not, said Mr. Simmons.

"We have a couple of test runs now – to the airport and St. David's."

He said scheduling changes would look at demographic shifts in population concentrations such as more housing and business in Southside, and new hotels elsewhere.

"Other than that I can't promise a great deal of additional service."

And he added: "There is some difficulty getting adequate staff." Mr. Simmons said the better candidates were often snapped up by other employers but those left were not always suitable.

He said: "We are developing a testing instrument to assist us in the selection process but that is not coming online until the early part of spring.

"It is essentially a psychometric test which will help to uncover positive traits in individuals who would make good bus operators and weed out people with anti-social tendencies.

"We have a lot of people interested in being bus drivers but not a lot of people who are capable.

"When we put an advertisement in the paper we have a couple of hundred applicants but quite a few of them are the same people applying over and over who don't have the ability and personality to provide the service we would like."

The psychometric testing project is being done in conjunction with the Canadian Urban Transit Association.