“You would have heard in an earlier release that the dispute between the Department of Public Transportation (DPT) and the Bermuda Industrial Union over the bus roster.
“The parties met this morning and were unable to reach an agreement, and as a result, the disruption in the public bus service continues. The matter has been referred to the Minister of Labour.
“Yesterday, the BIU was informed that the government’s no work, no pay policy applies.
“Recently, I have noticed in social media the word privatisation has been used regarding the future of the DPT. I take this opportunity to assure you that privatisation is not on the table as far as the Ministry is concerned.
“It might be helpful for me to share my vision for the Department over the next year.
“DPT is responsible for moving Bermuda with a quality public bus service that is reliable and efficient. The continuation of the summer schedule allows the Department time to build up resources. This includes hiring additional Bus Operators and increasing the fleet size to a level that provides the Department with the ability to service the public bus runs, and dedicated school runs without incurring cancellations.
“Our goal is to achieve this level of service on or before September 2022.
“We are currently unable to achieve this goal due to the lack of resources. However, continuing in the summer schedule will allow the Department time to build the resources to a level that meets the requirements while simultaneously providing reliable service with little to no cancellations.
“The Ministry and the Department would focus their resources around the delivery of the public bus schedule. In order to achieve this, we will utilise the established and approved summer rosters which does not include school runs.
“The Ministry appreciates the continued public patience and will provide an update at 10:00 am tomorrow.”
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