conditioned vehicles in a multi-million dollar deal being planned by transport chiefs.

The Public Transportation Board wants to buy 20 new buses and it hopes to get them through a local agent, benefiting the Bermuda economy, instead of dealing directly with manufacturers in Germany.

Currently each bus costs $200,000 and the PTB will be searching if it can buy new vehicles more cheaply through local dealers as the deutschmark strengthens against the US dollar, making it more expensive to import.

The PTB runs a 106-strong fleet and the buses it wants to replace are all more than 18-years-old and are not air conditioned.

PTB director Mr. Herman Basden, said he hoped to present a deal to the Finance Ministry for approval and buy the new buses next year.

"We are in the process of buying new buses, but because they are expensive we are also looking at local agents to see if they have a product that would meet our specifications,'' said Mr. Basden.

He added that he also hoped extra air conditioned buses would encourage more people to use the service and take cars off the road.

Currently the PTB buys its buses directly from Germany and local agents would benefit through commission if the PTB conducted its transactions in Bermuda.

The deutschmark is a strong currency and if it strengthens against the dollar, it makes imports more expensive.

"We will be looking to see if we can get more buses for our dollars,'' added Mr. Basden. "But we will still be looking to see if a new product is as good as the German one.''