A former bus driver faces trial after denying two counts of driving his bus while impaired with drugs or alcohol and two counts of driving while having morphine in his body.

William Benjamin Francis, 38, of Bluff Lane, Pembroke, was picked up on North Shore Road, Devonshire on May 3 and again on South Road, Southampton, on June 6.

He was granted bail of $1,000 by Senior Magistrate Archibald Warner and will return for trial in Magistrates' Court on December 23 after denying the charges in plea court yesterday.

However, Francis admitted to having $440 in unpaid fines yesterday.

Public Transport Board Director Dan Simmons said: "He is not employed by us and hasn't been for some time. He did not resign."

He said he viewed the matter very seriously but could not comment further as the matter was still before the courts.

"We have a programme of prevention for substance abuse," he said, adding that all PTB staff, including himself, are subject to random drug tests.

"We do around 50 a year, sometimes more," he said. "I don't keep statistics, but positives don't happen on a regular basis."