Transport Minister Ewart Brown yesterday set a target of slashing car use from the West End to Hamilton by up to 30 percent when the new fast ferries begin operating next year.

Dr. Brown said he was hopeful road congestion will fall by 25-30 percent once the two front loading ferries begin their run.

But Shadow Transport Minister Erwin Adderley called this a "pipe dream'', and said that with $16 million spent on the ferry improvements, Government should be grateful for a 16 percent drop - one percent fall for every $1 million spent.

Dr. Brown also revealed Government plans to promote park-and-ride facilities to encourage commuters to use the new front-loading ferries. The first ferry arrives in October and is scheduled to be in operation by January.

And the minister laid out plans to establish minibuses to provide door-to-door services to bring commuters to the ferry terminals to stop travellers driving to catch the ferry.

Dr. Brown said he was hoping taxi drivers could provide the service, but if they could not, he would put it out to tender to minibus owners.

Exit surveys consistently showed tourists wanted an improvement in transportation and a new Transportation Management Plan will be completed by the end of the month, said Dr. Brown.

Government had been inclusive in its consultations with all sectors of the community about the new plan, he said.

"We found in place a colonial model that made people fit the transportation.

This Government has taken a different model to make the transportation fit the people,'' said Dr. Brown.

Transport Control Department, which was once a "centre of grief for Bermudains'', was now changing its image to be much more user-friendly and focussed on customer service. The sign saying customers would not be served if they were not at the counter by 4.30 p.m. will be removed.

TCD was spending money on improving payment methods and had bought a digital imaging camera for licences. Revenue is estimated to go up by 7.5 percent to $21,505,000.

Although Bermuda cannot negotiate air routes, through successful talks with Britain, the Island can now approve non-scheduled season flights for six months rather than two weeks.

"This now means the Tourism Minister has an additional card in his hands. He can now parley this charter policy into using Bermuda in non-scheduled charter,'' he said.

Government is buying ten new buses in this financial year and the Public Transportation Board has secured a deal to buy an extra ten buses in the future at a cheap rate by taking advantage of the Euro-dollar exchange rate.

Dr. Brown said shrewd PTB officials had locked in a deal at the current favourable rate to buy the ten buses in the future.

TCD will continue to look at turbo-charged diesel engines which use electricity to power wheels, using technology used in some trains in North America.

A new Bermudian general manager will be appointed at the Airport to take over from Marshall Minors after a "suitable period of training''.

The Department of Civil Aviation now has an all-time high of 150 aircraft on the register.

Operating expenditure at the Airport was down $226,00, while revenue was forecast to rise by $370,000 to $9.2 million.

Shadow Transport Minister Erwin Adderley and Shadow Tourism Minister David Dodwell said the PLP was implementing the integrated transport plan of the United Bermuda Party.

Mr. Adderley said the PLP manifesto talked about reducing costs for taxis, including concessions on import duties and on fuel.

"I was shocked and surprised that not a dickie bird was mentioned about the taxi industry. The manifesto talked about an integrated taxi system and I would have thought the minister would have referred to that.'' said Mr.

Adderley.

"If the minister believes that throwing enough money to the ferries and the commuters will come then this is a pipe dream,'' he added.

Mr. Adderley complained that the first fast ferry is due to arrive in October yet no schedules had been produced.

Dr. Brown replied they would be ready six months before the service starts in January.

Mr. Adderley said Government should be looking at introducing video cameras inside taxis to combat attacks on drivers. The system is used in Australia.

PLP MP Wayne Perinchief congratulated Dr. Brown for trying to bring coherence to the taxi industry and said it was not the drivers fault the industry was so disorganised.

He said bringing all transport groups together would not happen without some people "dragging and screaming'' but it had to be done.

He said it should be possible to have a harmonisation of fares between taxis, ferries and buses using a single voucher.

Mr. Dodwell acknowlegded the UBP had made a mistake when it did not insist on taxi drivers having radios in their cabs.

He questioned whether Government was sure the new ferries would attract the numbers needed and said parking would need to be found, particularly at the Belmont and Darrell's Wharf.

He asked whether Dr. Brown had considered car pooling as another option for getting less cars on the road, perhaps using a field to park vehicles.

The UBP was in favour of privatising some of the water transport, but under the PLP there had only been more bureaucracy, he claimed.

Mr. Dodwell said there was no air strategy, and called on Government to appoint one person to deal with this.

An airport authority, using the same staff but allowing private investment, would allow quicker decisions.

He suggested getting tougher on speeding and road rage and called for helmets to be mandatory on pedal bikes.

Mr. Dodwell said Government should look at providing visitors an alternative to mopeds which stopped short of cars.

At the close of the Transport debate Dr. Brown said that the public should be "optimistic'' about a resolution on the taxi matter.

He pointed out that the Ministry had managed the largest ever meeting of the taxi industry in the history of the country when 500 of 553 owner came out to discuss the central dispatch initiative.

He added that the Director of TCD had informed him that a letter of intent was signed by some taxi owners yesterday and they were seeking legal advice to form a company to implement the system.

"We believe that it is absolutely not out of order, in our belief, that a person who calls for a taxi in Bermuda should get one within 15 minutes,'' he said.

Dr. Brown also said that while the Ministry had reviewed the matter of an Airport Authority, it was not prepared to move forward on it at this time.

The Minister also spoke to a few matters of road safety, pointing out that Bermuda will be implementing seatbelt laws as suggested in this year's Throne Speech. "On helmet safety and seatbelts, legislation should be on my desk within weeks.'' He also said that the Ministry was looking at the issue of cell phone use while driving and considering water taxis although land taxis are at the moment, clearly their priority.

Ministry of Transport 2001/02 estimates Ministry responsibility: To manage and regulate transportation on the Island, including providing buses and ferries.

Budget estimate: $46.8 million (last year $46.4 million) Revenue: $45.9 million Marine and Port Services $6,348,000 Airport Operations $9,293,000 Transport Control Dept $21,505,000 Public Transportation $6,284,000 Civil Aviation $2,524,000 Budget allocations Marine and Ports $11,680,000 Airport Operations $15,275,000 Transport Control Dept $2,430,000 Public Transportation Dept $14,225,000 Transport HQ $715,000 Civil Aviation $2,454,000 Ewart Brown