Government is set to change the laws to allow schools to have their own buses in a bid to cut down on moms' school runs and ease traffic.

Transport Minister Ewart Brown said: "Every Bermudian knows when the private schools are not in session the traffic is a lot better.

"So we looked at the schools and said why don't we find a way to provide you with private buses. That way you can pick up all your kids and you wouldn't have 50 or 60 vehicles on the road.

"Then we find out it needed legislation to use the Bermuda Host buses ? the airport limousines. We have to amend the legislation because their use is restricted. We are going to to that before Christmas, hopefully."

Department of Transport consultant Larry Jacobs said a study by the Department of Transport a couple of years ago showed traffic was 16 percent worse when school was in.

"We have been working with the schools and intend to work harder to provide an alternative for transport of school children. It's easier said than done.

"In theory if you found an alternative mode for school children other than each parent driving the child things would be easier.

"We are one of the few places which doesn't have dedicated school buses but school children use public transport.

"We looked at it and concluded a dedicated school bus wouldn't be particularly efficient ? it would result in more big vehicles being on the road.

"If you have a bus that goes from school A to School B on the same route it's adding more vehicles."

He said in other places school buses were simply parked during the day which was not efficient.

At present "school buses" are mostly integrated into the normal schedule. Non-students can use them and the buses carry on once the school drop has been made.

Public Transport Board director Dan Simmons said Berkeley would get its request for more dedicated buses because it was off the usual bus route.

But principal Michelle Gabisi said she would like the school to own a bus to help with commuting and for use in sporting events and she would like PTB's buses running to Berkeley to be exclusive to its students.

"We have one that comes from the east which is not a typical school bus in that it picks up other passengers. It is not dedicated to Berkeley."

Bermuda Institute had a bus which came from St. David's, said Mr. Simmons, early in the morning which did not go through Hamilton or transfer in St. George's but everybody could get on it as it went as far as Barnes Corner.

"The real efficiency is the dual purpose, where school buses are integrated into the schedule."

He acknowledges the school run by moms makes his life more difficult but there are no easy answers.

"It's part of the affluence of our society that people have the time and money to drive their kids to school.

"Some people hire a taxi driver to take their kids to school. They want to make sure their kids get there but I have been at PTB for 19 years and we haven't lost a student yet.

"We cater to kids from five to 18. Kids don't get lost.

"The little ones sometimes fall asleep and miss their stop and those are things we deal with regularly. We deliver.

"The difficulty when you get the private schools is they are not on a bus route and I suspect folk don't want their kids to get off at the central terminal and walk west to BHC.

"Most parents want to deliver them. With the lack of a dedicated bus that takes you right to the school I can see why they want to bring their kids to town."

He said BHS couldn't take a bus in its location while Saltus was on a bus route but could mean a need to transfer in town.

National Trust Environmental Committee chairman Bill Holmes said: "Everyone is reaping the legacy of centralising most of the secondary education, most of the commerce and most of the business in Hamilton.

"You have BHS, Saltus, MSA and CedarBridge all roughly that area."