Motor Car Amendment Act Passes In House
Following the Bill passing in the House of Assembly, Minister of Tourism, Transport and Municipalities Michael Fahy said, “I am very pleased indeed that the Motor Car Amendment [No. 2] Act passed in the House today.
“This brings us a step closer towards the introduction of minicars in Bermuda which will enhance our tourism offerings and move our tourism product forward and make us far more competitive with other tourism destinations.”
“We have taken into account the concerns of our transportation stakeholders and are pleased to have found broad agreement in the size and specifications of minicars.
“Having spoken at a number of international tourism events there is real excitement in the tourism industry about the likelihood of this offering being successful. ”
“I look forward to the Senate debate when I will be able to expand further on the benefits of this new amenity and the consultation that was undertaken which should add clarity to some of the misleading statements made by the Opposition during the debate in the House.”
In delivering a Ministerial brief earlier today on behalf of the Minister of Tourism, Transport and Municipalities, Minister Dr Grant Gibbon said, “The Bill makes provisions for a ‘minicar livery’ scheme including the types of mini cars that are available for rental, the specifications of and the license duty for those ‘minicars’, the license fee applicable for the operation of a minicar livery, and for connected purposes.
“These ‘minicars’ will not exceed 150 c.c.’s in engine capacity, 20 horse power or 15 kilowatts. They will not exceed 120 inches in length or 60 inches in width overall and will have a maximum of 2 seats.”
Where is Edna Matthie when you need her?????!!!!!! Anyone wanna strike with me?????
Wondering how much they will cost per day. Still think A class cars would be better.
I actually see this as a good option as this is one thing we as Bermudians look for when we travel, car rentals, for those of us who love to drive and get around without the headaches of public transportation.
It will however have somewhat a negative impact on out taxi industry and/or mini bus shuttles.
Many tourist wont rent bikes because they are not all that safe on them, but coming from jurisdictions that they already drive, feel more at ease being able to drive.
Hopefully we will tighten the belt on the conditions of how this will also not prejudice other local’s with creative business ideas, such as short term rental’s for locals.
In the sense of doing business short term or having transport at your leisure short term to name a few.
I’m sure the horse and buggy guys ADAPTED to the changing times just as our taxi drivers and rental scooter guys will too.
Uhhhh…we look for car rentals because we’re not about to jump on a Harley
Brilliant!
Progress it is called
This one dumb idea, there ain’t no were to park as it is already … I like tourist but they can barley find there way around this island as it is .. think about how accidents that may happen.. I mean Jeesh have some real thought in this an not jus think about the mo way involved … it maybe safe a a vehical but the ppl operating it ( mostly tourist ) have no clue how crazy these streets can be there’s an accident everyday
I’m worried about speed… at the moment if someone is going 35kmph, people overtake them around corners and with traffic coming in the opposite direction they’re in such a hurry to get past. Worried that this will exacerbate the problem as I think I read somewhere that they will be slowish. Either that or the police are FINALLY going to have to crack down on the speeding….?
In the rush to satisfy our visitors, are we disadvantaging our residents? What happens if someone wants to buy a mini car for their child to improve their safety.
Also will we allow rentals directly from the airport, given that we ‘drive on the wrong side of the road’ and have very narrow roads.
Given the parking in Hamilton we really need to have a practical parking plan for the vehicles, especially because we do not traditionally give parking tickets to rentals.
Notice also that the summary airport agreement that was released indicates that Aecon will have the exclusive right to licence rental cars that are leased from the airport. Any guesses on who is slated to get the licence for the new car rental business?
Bermuda needs to get out of its own way a move the country forward with new ideas and progression
A family of 4 would like a small car….
Many Caribbean Islands rent small jeeps, cars, mokes…. Ya be able to rent to families….
Twizys are great but a small A class is also the way to go…..
Baby step. Won’t be long before they discover that these 150cc things are next to useless.
How much to rent? Renting a small jeep in a place like Marthas Vineyard or Block Island is near $200PD. Bermuda being Bermuda expect a similar anount for the toys proposed to be rented.
You can F off and drift back to where you are from ass. “Bermuda being Bermuda” huh?
My my, what an intelligent response!
I like your use of the word ‘toys’. One of my main concerns is that the target age bracket of 21-45, particularly newish drivers in their early to mid- 20s, will treat these vehicles like go-carts. After all, that’s what they look like! And the Mr. Tulani Bulford’s statement that the minicars have “sex appeal” like a little sports car” does very little to alleviate my concerns that propsective operators are gonna treat it like that.
I think a class A car would be so much better, and I predict the rental market will eventually progress to that. I believe these little buggies will be less than a waste of time.
Wrong decision !
Crowded roads, lots of accidents.
This sounds good (if you listen EXTREMELY closely), but there is to balance between the convenience to tourists and inconvenience to locals.
Not only are the vehicles bigger, which will make them harder to pass, but they are incredibly low to the ground, which will make them harder to see. Not to mention how diminshed the visibility will be of the prospective operators; for me, this point kind of counters the enhanced safety aspect which has been mentioned.
Also, I’m curious what the cost comparison is to that of rental scooters. Then you’ve got the issue of parking – bikes park for free, what about these minicars that could be up to 10 feet long. And apart from the cost of parking, where’s the space for parking? Locals are hard pressed as it is to find parking in the city let alone tourist hotspots like the beaches. With the addition of minicars, limited/insufficent space will become even more so.
Then you’ve got the environmental and societal/functional impact to consider. Minicars will further congest our already congested roads. On one hand you’re encouraging locals to carpool or take the ferry, and on the other hand your throwing new vehicles onto the road. And as far as the environment goes, more pollution would be entering our atmosphere with the introduction of these minicars which I’m sure consume more gas than scooters.
They’re electric, highly visible and fast enough that you won’t need to pass. City Hall has more than enough room to accommodate the cars now that access is properly regulated.
Wait, when has Bermuda encouraged people to carpool?
Omg. !!!! Can you imagine 10 of them following one another out of Dockyard… Lmao…All hells gonna break loose. Wow. Dumb clowns. BDA too small. They panicked now riding in buses and taxis. Well imagine that ffs!!!!! Can’t wait to get my laugh on.
we’ll be the dumbest lot on earth if we keep saying no,no,no….think like a business, you’re island is a product that generates revenue.
So who do we sue when a visitor smashes head-on into me?
These idiots that pass this obviously do not ride or drive on Bermuda’s roads all day everyday.
Questions; Who is going to protect us? What will the insurance policy be when they hit us? They can be out os here in a minute. I see our rates going up.
Gotta love the arguments “We drive on the left. Our roads are narrow. They can’t drive good enough to have a real car in Bermuda”
Absolute nonsense to all of them. The same people who visit Bermuda travel the world, renting vehicles wherever they go. Last I heard places like England, Japan, Australia, New Zealand & many others, drive on the left.
If you believe all roads in N America are wonderful & wide you have never driven the county roads of the Appalachians. Probably never heard of The Going to the Sun Highway, never mind driven it & seen how twisty & narrow it is. What is especially notable is the size of the vehicles on some of these roads & how seldom you see an accident. No, your average North American driver can teach a Bermudian a thing or two about good driving.
We all happily get off the plane & straight into a rental car much bigger than any Bermuda car. Either not many of us are renting cars or we don’t take our deplorable Bermuda driving habits with us. We don’t hear of many Bermudians getting into crashes. A miracle. Some of us drive vehicles in the US far bigger than ANYTHING on Bermuda roads & we do it accident free for tens of thousands of miles on our Bermuda licenses.
What makes us think that North Americans do not deserve to be able to rent a real car to get around Bermuda?
I don’t know what all you people who support this are thinking with. We have very narrow roads the lanes going the opposite direction from each other are seppurated by a yellow line. Most of the surface is un-even. Blind corners etc. There is no room for error. I hope it’s not gonna be a case of I told you so. #wakeup