Government is considering tightening up the restrictions on buying and selling of second-hand cars in a bid to ease congestion on the Island's roads.

But Transport Minister Ewart Brown said this was just one of the many avenues he and his team were looking at to cut traffic congestion.

"We have had one recommendation that we could do something about the second hand car market,'' he said, "but I must point out that this is just an idea.'' While noting that the four new fast ferries, scheduled to be in use by early next year, will provide some relief, Dr. Brown said it was not an overall solution to the Island's traffic problems.

"We have 50,000 cars on the roads right now,'' he said, "and we can't just sit back and wait for the problem to get worse.

"While we are hoping the new ferries to have a significant impact, we know it won't be the end of it.'' Alongside the possible tweaking of restrictions on the second-hand car market, Dr. Brown said it had also been suggested to him that restrictions allowing Bermudians to only drive on certain days of the week be introduced.

"Personally, I don't think that one is feasible but we are looking at everything we can look at,'' he said.

The Minister listed other possible avenues as the introduction of an increased mini-bus service in different parts of the Island and the introduction of water taxis.

And he added that encouraging residents to use buses instead of taking their vehicles to work would ease matters considerably.

"I think the reason a lot of people don't take the bus is, not because of the fares, but because they don't have a method of getting to the bus stop'', Dr.

Brown said.

"A possible solution to this might be the introduction of a free or inexpensive feeder service to take people from near their homes to where the bus stops,'' he added.

"It's an uphill struggle but we are doing our best.''