Let’s address two recent reports regarding the transportation industry in Bermuda.

One article highlighted the sentiments of a representative of the Bermuda Land Management Corporation; the other, the opinion of a representative of the taxi industry.

The articles appear to suggest that the taxi and minibus industries were and are not capable of managing transportation for cruise ship and airline passengers efficiently.

They were referring to the very rare occasions when approximately 7,000 or more cruise passengers arrive on island on a given day.

BLMC touts a dock pass and a “new” system, implemented in 2025 in Dockyard, as having created “better service” that handles the volume of people more efficiently.

The taxi industry representative suggests that the amount of cruise visitors should be staggered or reduced because, in his opinion, the taxis and minibuses cannot possibly provide transportation for such volumes.

The truth is that the taxis, minibuses and BLMC dispatch staff, with occasional assistance from the Transport Control Department and the parks department, have been doing a stellar job for years moving these guests safely and efficiently.

These transportation workers have been very seldom publicly acknowledged or congratulated for their outstanding accomplishments.

I have repeatedly heard tourists comment on how well organised our system is.

It is the tourists who would understand and better appreciate the services we provide rather than someone who has not partaken in the experience.

In little more than two hours, the transportation providers move over 6,000 people from the port at Dockyard to various locations — incident-free.

The service is so efficient that when a tourist leaves a purse, wallet or phone, etc, on a bus or taxi, their belongings are returned to them not only before the end of day, but often within the hour.

This is a well-organised industry that runs like clockwork and should be recognised as such.

We in the industry would greatly appreciate if there were far more “high volume” days than the very few times this occurs during a season at present.

Fact is, the system is oversaturated with minibuses, which results in reduced income and a highly competitive, sometimes aggressive atmosphere.

We are a large group of individual owners and drivers who, over the years, have developed an efficient system that appears to be unappreciated by a few naysayers.

I recently attended a taxi organisation meeting where, apparently, one of the leaders of the organisation was attempting to convince their members that the taxi operators are not able to move the high volumes efficiently.

A well-spoken taxi owner rose to oppose that opinion.

I didn’t jot down numbers, so my example of what he said is not accurate regarding the years and numbers of people moved.

However, he gave dates, years and numbers. He clearly had researched what he spoke of. This is the gist of what he said.

“Back in the Seventies to Nineties, we had x-amount of taxis and we had no problem moving x-amount of people at the airport and all of the cruise ship docks — before there were so many minibuses.

“Now we have much more taxis and a heck of a lot more minibuses, and you are trying to convince us we can’t move these people when the volume of people is not extremely higher now than it was back then when there was less lift capacity.

“We in the industry move the people and you, outside of the industry, are trying to convince us that we can’t.”

The people in that meeting clearly understood and accepted what he said to be true.

There appears to be an agenda to convince the general public that the transportation industry needs further assistance from the Government and the cruise ship industry to increase the amount of transportation vehicles, including ferries, on the island.

There is also an attempt by the cruise ship industry to gain possession of a particular area of Bermuda so that they can have exclusive rights to create an attraction to conduct business as well as provide transportation to the location.

This is not a unique concept for cruise lines; it is done in many different countries around the world.

The result is that the locals lose access to beaches which they grew up having access to.

It is not too far-fetched to expect that the cruise line will hire staff of their choice, who will not likely be Bermudian.

The transportation industry is a privately owned industry, which the Government has limited control over.

My question is, what is actually going on?

A power grab, perhaps?

• Dean Ming is the public relations officer of the Bermuda Association of Minibuses