USA Today reports good news about Island’s transportion for visitors
Bermuda’s public transport system has once again made international headlines, but this time it’s good news.The USA Today website is reporting that passengers are no longer complaining about the Island’s buses and ferries.It has posted a story on the cruise log section of its travel website headlined: “Getting around Bermuda getting easier for cruisers.”The story states that it’s good news for anyone heading to Bermuda soon on a cruise as Government “has been overhauling the bus system used by cruisers in the wake of a string of negative news stories about service levels.”The internationally-read newspaper picked up on yesterday’s Royal Gazette story that the Ministry of Transport is being praised for “turning things around” for passengers who had previously expressed frustration at timetable cuts, cancellation lists and lengthy delays.This is a far cry from the international publicity the Island received about a month ago. Bermuda’s reputation took a massive beating with the USA Today suggesting tourists were no longer being made to feel welcome.The story began: “The island nation of Bermuda appears to have had enough with visiting cruise ship passengers clogging its public buses.”The story was in response to Government’s controversial plan to limit the number of cruise ship passengers boarding buses at Dockyard to leave room for locals.It prompted more than 70 website comments with tourists threatening to take vacations elsewhere and calling on cruise lines to boycott Bermuda.Transport Minister Terry Lister said last night that he did not want to comment on the issue of public transport being on the USA Today website for a second time.But the story attracted a mixed bag of comments on The Royal Gazette’s website yesterday.Several people said the Minister had failed to address the lack of ferries to Paget and Warwick.One person commented that Government didn’t deserve praise, adding: “It took them three weeks to get this in order when they had all year to plan for it. This was not something that took a rocket scientist to figure out.”While another person said: “Given that the buses are now perfect, I can rest easy that it was clearly my fault that I stood by the side of the road on Saturday afternoon waiting to go to Somerset as bus after bus stuffed full of passengers drove past me.”