School buses could be in the works if a pilot programme currently running works out

Premier Dr. Ewart Brown announced the new initiative yesterday and said it was part of his traffic decongestion plan.

Students from Bermuda High School, Mount Saint Agnes and Saltus have been encouraged to take ferries into town and then hop on board a bus which will drop them off at their respective schools.

The bus does one run in the morning and two in the afternoon, to cater to students who leave school immediately and those that stay for after school programmes.

Headmaster of BHS, Roy Napier, said: “So far it has been great. It is a free service and started on Tuesday.

“We have been in communication with parents letting them that this was coming and already there are about 20 kids from BHS using the bus.

“Parents seem happy with the efficiency and safety of the bus.”

Dr. Brown said: “This is another critical piece of our traffic decongestions plan which is aimed to deal particularly with the historic congestion from the west end into Hamilton.”

New legislation was drafted before Christmas to enable the Government to use the Bermuda Host buses - the airport limousines.

In the House of Assembly in November Dr. Brown said: “Every Bermudian knows when the private schools are not in session the traffic is a lot better. So we looked at the schools and said why don’t we find a way to provide you with private buses. That way you can pick up all your kids and you wouldn’t have 50 or 60 vehicles on the road.”

A study by the Department of Transport a couple of years ago showed traffic was 16 percent worse when school was in. It is hoped that parents will use this new option instead of driving into town simply to drop their kids off.