Transport chiefs appear to have corrected glitches to a new transport system for cruise ship passengers at Dockyard.

Last week private mini buses began running a shuttle service to Horseshoe Bay, a route that had previously been provided by Department of Public Transport buses.

But the new system resulted in long queues for buses last Wednesday, with visitors apparently unaware that mini buses were available.

Although Transport Minister Shawn Crockwell said the problem had been caused by a lack of communication, critics said the new system had been ill-thought out and did not provide enough capacity for the thousands of cruise passengers who arrive in the west end every Wednesday during the cruise ship season.

And earlier this week, Bermuda Industrial Union president Chris Furbert warned that last week’s chaos would be repeated unless more vehicles were assigned to Dockyard.

“You’re probably going to have another disaster up there tomorrow,” he said at a press conference on Tuesday.

However, tourists at Dockyard who were looking to explore other parts of the Island did not appear to have any difficulty in finding transport out of the west end yesterday.

The only queues witnessed by The Royal Gazette were for the popular ferry services to Hamilton and St George’s.

Private taxis also appeared to be popular with visitors. But while mini bus drivers were on hand to take tourists to Horseshoe Bay, overcast skies suggested that many visitors had decided to save their visit to the beach for another day.

And there was no repeat of last week’s long lines of frustrated tourists waiting to board the few available DPT buses, which still run regular scheduled routes between Dockyard and Hamilton.

At a press conference yesterday Mr Crockwell said that “tremendous progress” had been made to ensure that visitors were now aware that mini buses were available.

He also stressed that the new service was an improvement, providing greater passenger lift, increased flexibility, and more options for the customer.

And the Minister emphasised that the new system had the backing of all stakeholders and freed up public transport buses in what was often a depleted DPT fleet.

“Last week we experienced a few challenges with the new beach shuttle service for the cruise ship passengers here in Dockyard,” Mr Crockwell said.

“These passengers were unclear about the transportation options that were available to them and that there was a new dedicated shuttle that could take them directly to the beach.

“As a result many passengers chose to take the public buses which resulted in long lines of passengers for the buses and underutilised shuttles. Regretfully, this caused undue inconvenience and frustration for our visitors and local passengers.

“The situation that occurred last week was an exception, rather than the norm and our Ministry is confident that the new service will prove to be successful.”

Mr Crockwell dismissed claims by Mr Furbert that the new shuttle service carried fewer passengers than DPT buses — and added that it was much more convenient for customers.

And he said that the BIU had not been consulted over the change because the new system had “no adverse impact on members’ working conditions”.

“The addition of the new Horseshoe Bay Beach shuttle means that our cruise ship passengers now have another option for travelling directly from Dockyard to Horseshoe Bay,” he said.

“This new beach shuttle service is the primary transportation for cruise ship passengers travelling to the Horseshoe Bay Beach and is very advantageous as it is more convenient — it goes directly to Horseshoe Bay and delivers the passengers down to the bottom of the steep hill and right to the beach. It is faster than the scheduled bus service because it does not make any stops and it has convenient scheduled drop-offs and collection times.

“The beach shuttle provides approximately 1,000 seats per day, which is more than what the buses were providing and is more than adequate transportation for our cruise ship passengers who want to get to the beach.

“This transportation option complements the existing bus and taxi services. It does not replace any regular public buses and in fact is intended to have a positive impact on our public transportation.

“This beach shuttle service frees up much needed public buses, which will benefit our local passengers who rely on the buses leaving Dockyard. This additional transportation option also ensures that there is adequate lift to meet everyone’s needs.”

Following yesterday’s press conference, Mr Crockwell conducted a tour of Dockyard to assess how the new system was working.

In a statement in the afternoon, he said: “I wanted to see firsthand the improvements that were made to our transportation system in Dockyard since last week.

“Although the inclement weather has played a role in reducing transport demands, once the weather cleared this morning and the masses came off of the ships, I can happily report that everything ran smoothly which suggests that significant progress has been made. The taxi drivers and minibus operators that I spoke to were positive about the new initiative.

“I am confident that the transport situation in Dockyard will continue to be handled well.”