Transport Minister Terry Lister has been accused of “making absolutely no sense” by restricting the number of tourists who can get on the bus at Dockyard.Bermuda Democratic Alliance MP Shawn Crockwell said Government should be doing all it can to promote the Island, rather than making tourists feel unwelcome. The spokesperson for transport said tourists had already been hit hard by ferry cutbacks, so they should not suffer “further inconvenience” on the buses.Mr Crockwell spoke out after The Royal Gazette reported yesterday that cruise ship passengers would no longer be allowed to fill up all seats on buses in a bid to create some space for local bus users. Whenever a cruise ship arrives at Dockyard, a dispatcher will now be on hand to “control tourist numbers” as it has long been a complaint of residents who say full buses repeatedly drive past them as tourists take priority.Mr Crockwell’s views were echoed by comments from residents and tourists, which flooded this newspaper’s website and Facebook page. Mr Crockwell said: “We do not understand how the Minister can in one breath say that we will be relying on cruise ship visitors for this upcoming season and then in the next breath direct his bus dispatcher in Dockyard to deny visitors access on our buses.“This makes absolutely no sense. How can we be relying on cruise ship visitors yet also be seeking to limit their access to public transportation? Without this access they will not be able to fully enjoy their visit to our island. As a tourist destination we must ensure that our services are at a very high standard. Equally we must ensure that Bermudians are able to use our buses to get to where they need to go.”Mr Crockwell said he “fully appreciated the dilemma” as Mr Lister had to try to accommodate the $1.3 million reduction in the Department of Public Transportation’s budget.But he said he believed the solution was to make more buses available to meet the current demand on routes.Mr Crockwell said: “We already have tourists complaining about the reduced ferry services. We cannot afford further inconvenience for our visitors, especially during our high season.“Once again it appears as if this Government is simply reacting without understanding the broader picture and devising a plausible plan.“It was recently reported that Bermuda had received top ratings from the Queen Victoria during her visit and the Minister ensured us that the staff at the Ministry of Transport are working hard to ensure that this cruise season is also a success.“We need to ensure that we build on that success and maintain those top ratings. Denying our cruise visitors access to our buses is not a good start.”Mr Lister’s plans to control the number of tourists getting on the buses was yesterday the most commented story on The Royal Gazette’s website.Comments included: ‘You cannot be serious, what are you thinking?,’ ‘This is a truly bizarre situation,’ ‘This is totally the wrong approach,’ ‘Wow, definitely not ‘feeling the love’ here,’ and ‘last week these tourists were our bread and butter. What are they this week?’Several tourists made their feelings known by writing: ‘Crazy, why not put up a sign saying ‘no tourists allowed.’ I am never coming back’ while another wrote: ‘Having just come back from a cruise that docked at Heritage Wharf, something needs to be done to get all people out of Dockyard to explore the Island.’On Facebook people described the Dockyard dispatcher as ‘a fail of epic proportions,’ and ‘biting the hand that feeds you.’ Others said: ‘Tourists will go home and never come back,’ and ‘Bermuda is a tourist destination where tourists can’t get to their destination…brilliant.’Mr Lister said he did not want to comment any further on this matter.