of Assembly.

Most Opposition MPs said the United Bermuda Party was steering Bermuda in the right direction with the law.

But they urged Government to gear up for further changes if the Island was to keep on track.

The Motor Car Amendment Act allows people to sell their car and buy a new one without having to wait a year.

Transport Minister the Hon. Ralph Marshall said people now considered owning a car a right -- not a privilege.

Mr. Marshall said he had received a favourable reaction to the bill, which will lead to the recycling of second hand cars.

It will mean more people being able to buy cars, and fewer new ones being imported, thus helping the Country's balance of payments.

There will also no longer be a need for people to have their old cars cut up before buying a new one.

And another bonus, said Mr. Marshall, will be an increase in jobs for mechanics.

Mr. Marshall also said the Transport Control Department will keep up its tight control of the safety and appearance of vehicles.

Mr. Marshall accepted the bill will result in more cars on the roads -- perhaps a five percent increase.

In 1992 there were 19,500 cars registered, although there had been a recent drop in licences.

Mr. Marshall said the current restriction of one car per household will remain.

He added he could not see a rash of second-hand car lots sprouting up following the legislation because owners will not be able to purchase a new car until their old vehicle is officially transferred.

On ferries and buses, Mr. Marshall pledged Government will continue to subsidise a first class transport service.

Shadow Transport Minister Mr. Walter Lister described the proposed legislation as a "step in the right direction''.

It was important to help those who could not afford a new car.

He did not believe the bill would be a big help to the Country's balance of payments but said it would end the "madness'' of people being forced to cut up their cars if they wanted to replace them. "That is a waste of foreign exchange,'' he said.

Mr. Lister said many of the dumped cars were buried at the airport, and they were interfering with radar and communication with aircraft.

Although the bill was moving in the right direction, Government still needed to do more.

For instance, said Mr. Lister, legislation should be brought in to enable an owner's car to be driven by a friend or neighbour, provided he has a licence.

Currently, many people drove their friend's cars and came into contact with the law.

A ban on Bermudians living overseas from bringing cars, which are over six months old, back to the Island should also be removed, he added.

Age of a car was not necessarily a reflection on its condition, he pointed out.

Environment Minister the Hon. Ann Cartwright DeCouto believed the bill would be a big help for single parent households.

Often when couples separated the husband took the family car, leaving the woman without transport, she said.

"A motor car is virtually a necessity these days for single women with children.'' National Liberal Party leader Mr. Gilbert Darrell , supported the bill but raised fears over second-hand car markets on street corners, and increasing traffic on the roads.

It would be worrisome if a bank financed a second-hand car market, he said.

Mr. Darrell questioned why dumped cars buried at the airport, and not parked vehicles, were said to interfere with radar.

And he criticised TCD examiners for focusing on appearance rather than safety.

Mr. Walter Roberts (PLP) described this as unfair to TCD, which was very diligent about safety.

Generally he supported the legislation, claiming the idea for it came from the PLP.

He disputed whether it would lead to second-hand car yard markets.

"People cannot buy a new car until they have sold the old car. No one will want to be deprived of an old car while looking for another one,'' he said.

Mr. Roberts called for Government to make it possible for "someone else to drive your car without having a member of the family in it''.

Mr. Stuart Hayward (Ind) said that in the past 30 years there had been no fewer than 12 major studies of the transportation problem in Bermuda.

Mr. Hayward said: "Nearly every one found traffic levels to be unacceptable.

The Transport Minister says we have a ceiling. The fact is that the ceiling is as elusive as methane.'' He described the level as "disappearing goalposts'' and claimed the figures behind the level were wrong.

Quoting Mr. Alastair Dick's 1989 study, Mr. Hayward said the transportation policy ought to enhance travel opportunities for the less mobile, like children, the elderly and the disabled, reduce congestion, improve road safety and enhance the environment.

He said: "None of these measures that the Minister is introducing today meet any of the enhancements. It really does remind me of Alice In Wonderland.

Things happen for bizarre reasons and things that should happen don't.'' Mr. Hayward called for public transport to be enhanced and asked the Minister for a united public transport system taking in buses and ferries. He also produced his own list of recommendations for a complete public transportation policy.

Shadow Environment Minister Mr. Julian Hall said his view was a bit more alarmist than those expressed by his Opposition colleagues.

He shared the alarm of Mr. Hayward on the absence of any real overall transportation policy in Bermuda.

He said: "I think it behoves us to at least consider what we are doing and to be careful about the impact on amenities in Bermuda.'' The amendment had good points because it would provide cars for the less well off. He said: "We do not want motor car ownership to be restricted to and be regarded as the sole preserve of the rich.

"But I need to caution the House that we need to pay more than lip service to the notion of preservation of our amenities.'' He said the Opposition had given the bill "lukewarm'' approval, despite his reservations.

Mr. Eugene Blakeney (PLP) said he was pleased the bill would provide an opportunity for people in the low income bracket to buy cars.

And his colleague Mr. Dennis Lister asked what restrictions were in force to stop people changing the chassis of one car to another.

Government MP Mr. Phillip Smith said: "This could not come at a better time than in these recessive times when a lot of people out there cannot afford to purchase a car.'' He said that, because of the current law, traders would get cars and sell parts with no cash returning to the owner.

Mr. Marshall denied the Opposition response had been lukewarm and he also denied the bill would mean an increase in used car lots in the Island.

He said it was Government policy to reduce customs duty on electric cars to improve the environment but pointed out that there were not many electric vehicles on the roads.

Mr. Marshall said that in the future the Government will look at a "credit card'' like system for both buses and ferries.