A kiosk staff shortage left an estimated 150 people lined up waiting to buy tickets at the Hamilton Bus Terminal.

Some tourists in the line, who were visiting Bermuda from the Veendam cruise ship, told The Royal Gazette they had been waiting for about 25 to 30 minutes to purchase their three-day transportation passes.

The long queue started from the kiosk and stretched to the top of the terminal entrance on Church Street.

A Government spokeswoman said that only one cashier was available in the kiosk because of a shortage of staff at the Department of Public Transportation and that there are usually two to three working at a time.

One couple, Rich and Amy Roberts, visiting from New Hampshire, were standing close to the back of the line.

“We’re waiting to buy the all transportation passes and we’re in a little bit of a rush to get to the beach,” said Mrs Roberts.

Steve Dacorta, visiting from Boston with his family, prefers to take the bus to a taxi.

He said: “We need more ticket sellers, this is nuts.

“We’ve been here before and we’re trying to go to Dockyard for the day; we like to ride the bus.

“I’ve read about the taxis being expensive which is why we’d rather take the bus.”

Valarie Descombes, from Montreal, said: “The bus system here is a good system and we like the ferry as well as we’ve visited once before, but we’d rather not wait in long lines.”