With summer tourism heating up, tour operators are hitting the roads, only to be slowed down by terrible road conditions.

Dexter Swan, logistics co-ordinator at Social Cycles on Parsons Road, Pembroke, runs daily electric pedal cycle and bus tours around Bermuda.

“When we ride with our clients in St George’s, from Tiger Bay to Coopers Island, it feels like we are on motocross bikes,” he said. “Mullet Bay Road is a scrambling track.”

Running tours islandwide, Mr Swan estimated that 80 per cent of Bermuda’s roads needed repair.

Last week, after a record amount of rain fell, the Ministry of Public Works warned motorists, and pedestrians, to exercise extreme caution, because the deluge created new potholes and worsened old ones. The stretch of road near the Elbow Beach Hotel was of particular concern.

Mr Swan’s tour bus drivers get to know pothole locations and take alternative routes, where they can.

“Outside of Industrial Park Road, Southampton there are a whole bunch of potholes,” he said. “You have to go to the other side of the road to avoid them. People are getting into accidents because of the road conditions, and experiencing damage to their vehicles.”

In the decade he has been running the business, he has seen road maintenance deteriorate.

Somewhat paradoxically, frequent road repair and stoplights were also an aggravation. He questioned why there was no obvious organised plan in place for paving the roads.

“Right now they are paving outside Pompano Beach Road in Southampton,” he said. “Next week they will move down to Spice Hill in Warwick and then the next week they could be down by Collector’s Hill in Smith’s. Why not start at one end and move towards the other, instead of skipping around.”

It was particularly frustrating for him to see roads finally paved, only to be quickly dug up again by Belco.

“It is not just affecting us,” he said. “It is impacting the comfort of our tourists.”

Daley Furbert, co-owner of Pedego Electric Bikes on Penno’s Wharf in St George, offers bicycle tours around the island.

Road conditions pose significant challenges for her firm when determining suitable tour routes and providing directions to guests who opt to rent bicycles independently from them.

“We actually removed a few popular routes we offered guests in the past, due to road conditions,” Ms Furbert said.

To ensure the safety and comfort of their guests they recently invested in a new fleet of electric bicycles designed to better handle the conditions of the road, and the Bermuda Railway Trail.

Ms Furbert said many of their guests do not fully comprehend the intricacies and safety concerns associated with navigating Bermuda’s roads.

“As such, our decision to offer guided electric bike tours, with a seasoned local tour guide, aligns with our commitment to providing a secure and enjoyable experience for all individuals who choose to explore the island with us,” she said.

Minibus operator Raymond Tucker, of Bermuda Breeze VIP Transportation, has been driving visitors around the island for half a century. He too, has seen road conditions worsen in recent years.

“There are quite a few potholes out there,” he said. “I hit one the other day in Paget and the steering wheel went crazy. I was rocked.”

The state of the roads is not just impacting tour operators, he said.

“A buddy of mine with a water truck broke his springs” Mr Tucker said. “He was out for several weeks. There is a lot of damage being done to vehicles.”

He had even heard that a recent accident in Paget, resulting in serious injury, had been caused by a visitor hitting a pothole.

“The problem is that the potholes are not being repaired in a timely manner,” Mr Tucker said. “Years back, Government had a foreman called Joseph King who was on the money, before, during and after storms. Even during storms, he would be out there clearing drains.”

Mr Tucker thought landscapers were contributing to the problem by blowing debris into the streets, after working on a property.

“All the leaves go into the street and clog up the drains,” Mr Tucker said.