Buses running every 15 minutes from first thing in the morning until midnight, smaller community buses for outlying areas and a new "Warbaby Fox" type ferry are amongst an armoury of transport initiatives designed to improve the experience for the travelling public.

Hi-tech roadside monitors will also be rolled out across the Island to assist in the detection of motorists who are using unlicensed vehicles on the roads.

A soon to be named Department of Transportation is sharing a $134 million budget allocation with the Tourism Ministry and Cabinet Office.

At the forefront of its plans are 25 new buses that will be deployed in a way that makes it possible for passengers on the main routes to the East and West of the Island to enjoy a bus service that runs every 15 minutes.

Premier and Transport Minister Ewart Brown said: "A sixth catamaran ferry in the style of the Warbaby Fox will be here in the early fall. This addition to the fleet will provide much needed redundancy for the operators of the ferry service.

"Within the budget for the soon to be Department of Transportation we have funding for 25 new buses, five of which will be neighbourhood commuter buses assigned to the main routes."

Dr. Brown said the St. David's community, which for some time has been calling for better public transportation, will be one of the first to benefit from the new community buses, which will be smaller than regular buses.

As from April the bus routes 7, 8, 10 and 11 will run every 15 minutes from 6 a.m. to midnight. The expansion of the bus service is designed to persuade more people to use public transport and thereby reduce traffic congestion, and also to encourage people who have been out drinking late at night to use a bus to get home rather than drive.

Explaining the roadside electronic monitoring to detect non-registered vehicles, Dr. Brown said: "During the next year the Transport Control Department will commence Island-wide deployment of electronic vehicle registration system, based on radio frequency identification technology. This system will be used to maintain accurate registration of the Island's 47,000 vehicles.

"Radio frequency ID tags on each vehicle will interact with strategically placed readers around the Island to assure that all vehicles are properly registered, insured and inspected. The system operates similar to electronic tolling. It will ensure that all vehicle owners are paying their fair share for the privilege of driving."

Finance Minister Paula Cox added: "This is to reduce the burden on the Bermuda Police Service, to assist Government in collecting significant revenue owed or fines and to ensure that disqualified and uninsured driving is kept to a minimum."

There will be no increase in bus or ferry fares during the coming year.