Travelling by ferry or bus has become so popular that it has created many of the issues the transport sector now faces, Transport Minister Walter Roban said in an interview yesterday.This Minister loves his job. Whether he’s talking about buses, ferries or taxis, Mr Roban is well-versed and enthusiastic. Exuding enthusiasm, he exhorted: “I hope people appreciate the challenges we have do not come from lack of popularity or lack of usage. We have pushed the system way beyond the original usage for which it was designed.”Local commuters and the Island’s visitors are its two main groups of users. “The goals are to make sure the service is balanced,” he said.“The original challenge was coming out of the West End (because of cruise ship visitors) as well as the need to move people off the road and limit the use of cars. That’s why the service was first configured in that way. The concentration of visitor activity at Dockyard — we have 3,000 to 4,000 visitors a day on one day in one particular area — creates a challenge for deployment and moving people, and, as I’ve said, we’ve pushed capacity for ferry services to its edge,” he said.“We have been working on that. I’d like to commend the team because they’ve been working hard, but it is still a challenge. We are happy with the success, but with success comes some challenges.”In helping to meet those challenges, the Ministry has decided to put back a shuttle service to and from Rockaway ferry terminal that had been removed because of cost constrains. “It was proving a good service that was costly,” he said.The GPS issue remains on the front burner for taxi owners, but more are using it and say it is an asset. But Mr Roban said the GPS issue is just a small part of the entire plan to upgrade the technological side of the transport system. ” What can be done to modernise the industry and its operating efficiency, serving its customers, and make it profitable for its owners and operators? I do not believe the GPS is the single essential ingredient — there are a number of things to look at: the cars, fuel, the management of equipment, and so on. So how do we help taxi owners find opportunities? It’s time to focus on modernising,” he said.“Some dispatchers use digital dispatch services, and are providing credit card facilities and online bookings. It makes sense for them to adapt to these technology options. The dispatch companies that are taking on this part of it find they are improving relationships between the dispatchers and the drivers,” he said.One of the principal steps towards making improvements such as these was the establishment of a taxi committee about a year ago, which Mr Roban hopes to turn into a statutory body in order that it can play a larger role. “It will be less the Ministry being the decider — we will work in partnership with the Taxi Commission through TCD and provide regulatory and technical support to them,” he said.“This is not a Government body stuffed with people who don’t know the industry — it will be people from the industry.” The sub committee has recommended a universal dispatch system, which the three independent dispatch companies have indicated they feel positively about. Other issues include modernisation, discipline and behaviours, an increase in the metered rate, as well as digital advertising on board taxis. “These are the things that are coming that we’re going to be working on,” he said.“We do not want to run the taxi industry. But we hope they can work together and be more uniform in their voice and their intent, which has been part of the challenge.”Taxi drivers have also voiced their concern about mini buses and the competition that they face from this alternate form of hired transport. “We understand that, but it has to be appreciated that mini bus operators are there out of a need for greater transportation options, so this has been allowed to develop. Now the industry has matured — there are about 60 licenced mini bus operators. So we are drawing up regulations for them right now. We will manage the number of mini bus operators, look at those that are not in operation, and pull those licences back. Mini buses are part of the transport industry and are a valuable business opportunity for Bermudians, which we want to cultivate — Bermudians earning money. We want it to move forward in a more orderly and managed approach.”Today’s tourism model has produced a “bottle neck operation in Dockyard,” he said — but despite those challenges: “When it comes to the choices consumers make, we should have as many sensible options as possible.”Going forward, Mr Roban said they want to have more cruise ships deployed in Hamilton and St George. “We are pursuing that. We don’t see having all the cruise ships in Dockyard as the only solution. We are actively pursuing this because it make sense. It’s easier to manage more of a dispersement of passengers and cruise ships because it puts less stress on public services. That’s what we want. We’d prefer a more disparate suite of transport options.”And also in the planning stages are the aim of attracting upscale luxury yachts to Bermuda, with enhancements including the Hamilton waterfront and in St George.“So, on our list — we want to modernise our options for how we communicate with the community. I am concerned with the lack of digital displays at the bus terminal, and they may need to be entirely replaced. I am also talking about a GPS component on the buses as well as taxis. And we are looking at many ways to keep in touch with our commuters: tweets, BlackBerry messenger, the internet and other modes of communications via PDA devices, so people know immediately about changes to the schedule due to weather or technical problems. We are also looking at safety issues for operators — there is a further development on the issue of having cameras; all public transport has options for cameras and making it part of the public transport framework, and to have them on board mini buses as well. We also want para-transport for the physically challenged and to find ways to better service the seniors.“We want to ensure that the legislation is in place so we can deploy all that capability. We have to see Transport as a service — not only as a business model — and do it efficiently,” he said.The OBA was invited by The Royal Gazette to comment on transport issues but had not done so by press time .