the director of the Public Transportation Board.

And Mr. Herman Basden warned that the ageing fleet would have to be replaced soon.

"I think we can no longer ignore that magic number of six or seven or eight years,'' the director said in reference to the average life span of the Island's buses.'' "We can operate most of the buses without problem, but we often have to take them off the road because of safety. It's a real pressure cooker in terms of providing service.'' Despite the significant number of decommissioned buses, which Mr. Basden put at about 30 to 40 percent of the fleet, the system continues to make approximately 98 percent of the 4,000 trips it provides each week, he said.

And this, he noted, was in spite of a recent labour dispute and the immense financial pressures that Government was facing as a result of the Base lands.

"The system is working remarkably well,'' Mr. Basden told The Royal Gazette .

"Our purchase of new buses was sidetracked by the return of the Bases to Bermuda, but the need should be addressed by Government after its April budget.

Although Transport Minister Wayne Furbert could not be reached for comment, Mr. Basden said that Government recognised the strain that the old buses were currently posing on the system.

He also expected that a new fleet of buses should be on Bermuda's roads by June.