A local summer camp organiser is having a hard time catching the bus, and it appears that other private camps are having the same problem.

While Government camps may have few transport woes, privately run summer camps are finding it difficult to secure transportation for planned field trips.

One camp operator said that she and her campers sweltered in the sun on several different occasions waiting for a public bus, only to watch them drive by without stopping. She relayed a story of another camp where children watched five buses pass them by.

"I think it's unfair when you have to be at the bus stop, you have people's children standing there in the worst heat of the day and because the drivers see a bunch of kids they drive right across," she said.

The problem arose as the Public Transportation Board (PTB) this year ended its traditional summer practice of "revenue bussing".

Under that system, camps could request Government buses for their special field trips and children were charged the regular bus fare. The abolition of revenue bussing now means PTB buses can only be used if they are chartered.

Chartering buses is too costly, said one camp organiser that spoke with The Royal Gazette, and would greatly increase the cost of running these camps. At present, the charter rate is $60 per hour and the rate begins as soon as the bus leaves the depot. It doesn't end until the bus returns to the station.

"For some camps, even if their students brought a dollar for the trip, the expense would still be too costly," the woman said.

Camp organisers were alerted of the change in the PTB system in April but that still did not afford them enough time to alter their rates.

The woman who spoke with The Royal Gazette has close to 40 students in her camp and said her flyers, with prices, had gone out before April. She said she felt adding an extra fee for transportation, after she had already published her rates, would be unfair to parents.

"After paying additional costs to maintain the camp, this proves to be really expensive," she said. "Why did this just spring up? Why wasn't implementation put off until next year when people could have prepared better?"

Chartering a bus is apparently necessary once a group of more than 25 children are taking a trip. But the camp organiser said her efforts to find out the policy from PTB director Dan Simmons were fruitless.

When contacted by The Royal Gazette, Mr. Simmons said he had no knowledge of bus drivers not stopping for groups and he said he had not heard any complaints in more than 15 months.

Defending the current system of chartering, he said the practice was uniform and applied to all camps including the Government ones.

"If we used or continued to run revenue buses, we don't even cover the driver's wage," he said. "The going rate for a charter bus is that ($60) and a little bit.''

In a happy ending to this story, the camp organiser has been able to work out a deal with Suburban Transit - a mini-bus operator, who transport the children for a $1.50 each way.