The Premier launched a new bus service yesterday to serve the community of St. David's and St. George's.

It is called a "midi" bus as opposed to a mini-bus because of its size, which falls between the size of a regular bus and a mini-bus. It is a 14-seat vehicle and can hold between three and five wheelchairs as well as four standing passengers.

The midi-bus route will start in St. George's and do a circular route of St. David's, and head back to St. George's. It will leave every hour, and quarter to the hour from St. George's and leave St. David's every hour and ten minutes after the hour. Hours of operation are 9.45 a.m. to 8.45 p.m.

The midi bus will travel to St. David's via Southside and out of St. David's using the Main Road. The route will include the beach turnaround at Cooper's Island.

Premier Dr. Ewart Brown addressed residents of the St. David's community stating the midi-bus initiative is the fulfillment of a goal, which was made months ago, which is now being delivered.

"We want the people of St. David's and the rest of Bermuda to know that we are a Government that honours its commitments and as such, I invite members of the public to pay close attention to our progress in the coming months, as accomplishments such as the St. David's midi-bus service is just the start of greater things to come," said the Premier.

He added: "Ladies and gentlemen, this is a maiden voyage, so we will make adjustments if necessary to provide the East End with superior service. Eventually we may see the rollout of similar midi bus services in other parts of the country.

"Clearly public transport is an important component of the way Bermuda lives, and we are consistently striving to expand and enhance our service therefore, improving the quality of life for Bermudians."

The Premier was accompanied by the PLP MP for Constituency three, Ms. Lovitta Foggo and Ms. Jonelle Christopher, Assistant Director for the Department of Public Transportation.