May 3, 2011Dear Sir,I am an American, age 70, and have visited Bermuda a number of times over a 20-year period, most recently staying in a private home in Paget.I was impressed by your article on Page 1 of May 3 in The Royal Gazette. Your bus and ferry problems are not limited to cruise ships and Dockyard routes. They affect all types of visitors adversely. Here are a few experiences this week (by one visitor). I travel widely and often take public transportation to connect with the population in countries where I visit for business. I am a Market Researcher and often measure “customer experience” for major corporations. In Bermuda, I am here for a rest for a week and for two days, I tried the bus to explore St George’s on one trip and the Bermuda Golf Academy on the other. I did not want to inconvenience my host to get a ride ... but I did get an “impression” worth noting:Trip 1: Paget to Bermuda Golf Academy on weekday (beautiful ride, paid $3 in bills, and dropped at correct stop). So far so good. Return bus at 4.15pm never came so had to wait one hour, although an out of service bus passed by with several passengers on board. Bus driver, was angry, aggressive in her talk. She took my bills, but no advice as to where to get off as it went via Cedar Hill not South Road. She bypassed a man at a stop as he did not get on the bus while I was up front asking her for my exit (he was fumbling for change and maybe thought I was exiting). She laughed as she told her friends that “he must have seen us close enough to be kissing”..as she lurched from stop to stop on a fast ride.Trip 2: Botanical Gardens to St George’s on Saturday midday (bus filled mostly with tourists, had to sit on rear step in middle of bus). Bus driver said $3 and took my bills. Good trip once I got a seat (maybe so full due to no ferry service), until the driver talked about a murder and how he knew the victim and “any day now his number might come up” during the whole ride after Grotto Bay. An older women sitting next to me agreed. My plan was to explore the St George’s Club, walk the old golf course, and find Blackbeard’s at Fort St Catherine, so I watched my back!Trip 3: Wanted to see Rugby International Match at 3pm vs. Bahamas on return. From unmarked bus stop above Somers Wharf, where I waited in line for 3.20pm No. 3 bus, the bus driver refused my fare in bills, saying token or coins only. After a quick trip to the shop for a token or change she said “no tokens” was on the door and no coins available. I returned to bus with $3 in bills and 6 quarters and she said “no” . I said she was the first bus in two days that had taken no bills, so deposited my fare. She refused to drive and got up to lecture me, sitting next to me, to explain “the rules”. I said please drive, as I paid my fare, was not moving and wanted to get to the rugby match (the first such int’l match in ten years). She grunted, looked to the rear of full bus and said: “I just started my shift and I do not need this aggravation!”I said nothing but thought this to myself:I have not paid several thousand dollars to visit Bermuda for a peaceful week away from my travels and work to face such a situation ... in fact, thought that why should I be forced to experience a Rosa Parks moment in reverse some 55 years after this took place in the American South when I was in college? Is this payback, a commercial death wish or an example of a socialist state gone overboard? I said “never again!” In fact, she was correct in following the rules, however inconsistent, but the bus system is not the place to try to educate visitors, but should be geared toward a positive, not punitive experience. I will not pay for such treatment ever again. So I hope Bermuda Tourism Bureau hires some “Mystery Bus Riders” to confirm this very disappointing visitor experience.JOHN GODREYPennington New Jersey