THE Bermuda Government is no closer to a long-term solution to reducing traffic congestion, and is today challenged to deal with the grim reality that there is a motorised vehicle on the road for every member of the population.

The issue remains a priority for the Transport Ministry, despite having to postpone a major examination of the Motor Car Act, ultimately hoped to have effected the necessary change to improve the situation.

"Things are being done, things are being considered, but we have nothing Draconian or dramatic in mind," said Transport Minister Ewart Brown. "We had planned to hold a workshop in October that was supposed to focus on the Motor Car Act and (its possible overhaul) but we had to, instead, hold a workshop on increasing internal efficiency within the Transport Control Department.

"So we didn't have it. But we are constantly seeking ways of redirecting traffic, urging people to use public transportation and looking at proposals concerning car ownership."

Several of the possible options being considered as a means of curbing the traffic level, Dr. Brown added, had been released in the National Transportation Management Report in January, aimed at encouraging greater use of the public transportation system.

Some of those options, such as the introduction of faster ferries with additional stops, and privately operated minibus services for areas not generally served by a public transport network, had already been put into place.

Additional suggestions in the report included the possibility of reducing the use of private vehicles during peak hours; establishing an island-wide car-pool programme; limiting cars to certain driver segments; increasing the age to own a car from 18 to 21; decreasing the maximum age from unlimited to 65; increasing the driving age for cycles; providing incentives for not owning a car; making it more difficult to reinstate a driver's licence and eliminating second-hand cars altogether.

The number of possibilities were limited, said Dr. Brown, as plans could only be implemented that would work with the current traffic level. More solutions would be possible if there not so many vehicles on the road as there were at present, he said.

"If we didn't have (the number of cars that we do on the road today), one of the things we could do would be to double the bus fleet, have them run more frequently, and make them more freely available. And we may still have to look at that. It would make public use more acceptable.

"If you look at the National Transportation Management Plan, you can see the options that are there but we will look at every reasonable suggestion. We will take whatever steps are necessary."

October's postponed meeting, which would have looked at totally revamping the current motoring laws, was still in the works, he said.

When the meeting was first announced, Dr. Brown said its aim would be to see if a new Motor Car Act could be designed.

"The original Act was written in 1951 and it has been amended to death," he said then. "The time has come for a total redesign. You can keep amending forever and still not achieve the desired goals.

"We want to take a critical look at the existing law with an eye to producing a modernised version, We hope that by-products of this would be to reduce traffic and increase road safety."

Motor industry stakeholders and the public were to have been invited to air their views as well.

Said Dr. Brown yesterday: "We have to do something. I think it is becoming a more uncomfortable experience for people - the congestion - and as it gets worse, people themselves will want change.

"There is now a motorised vehicle for every resident in Bermuda.

"Government doesn't have a magic number. We don't have a limit in mind (as to the number of vehicles we can support) but we know we can't continue in the same direction or we will have bumper-to-bumper cars from one end of the island to another."

Dr. Brown said one of the measures being considered was operating special buses specifically for students which would enable greater seating on public routes. However, he felt that making better use of the water was the best alternative.

"We are still convinced, more than ever, that water is an option," he said.

"There has been a perceptible decrease in the volume of traffic from the western end of the island to Hamilton (since the fast ferries were introduced) although we expect that in the winter the numbers on the ferries will decline.

"We will look at every suggestion and we do intend to take a reasonable approach but if we aren't left with any other choices we will be forced to take more drastic measures."