New Bus Introduced To Fleet, Second Received
The new bus that arrived in Bermuda in January was introduced to the fleet last week Tuesday, and the Department of Public Transportation received a second bus last week Wednesday and it “will be incorporated into the fleet once it is fully prepared by DPT.”
The new bus after it came off the dock in January:
In response to Bernews queries about whether the new bus is on the road yet, a Government spokesperson said, ”Yes. The new bus was introduced to the fleet Tuesday, April 24th.
The spokesperson also noted that, “The Department of Public Transportation received the second bus Wednesday, April 25 morning. It will be incorporated into the fleet once it is fully prepared by DPT.”
When the bus arrived in January, the Ministry said, “The engine and chassis for the new bus was procured from MAN Truck & Bus Company in Germany. It was then built by MOBIpeople, a company located in Coimbra, Portugal,” the Ministry said.
“The new bus looks similar to the 2014 series but has quality improvements, many of which were through feedback from DPT staff, and some, through recommendations from MAN and MOBI.
“The new buses have room for 39 passengers, up by one on the older models. There is also improved air-conditioning and lighting and a better bell system. Other improvements include more access compartments for vehicle maintenance.”
It took them five months to ‘prepare’ a new bus.
This is why nothing gets done around here.
Better then Fahey giving that guy $300,000 and getting nothing in return.
Well at least de guy bought a mansion, sports car and took trips.
Who you talking about? The guy who oversaw the best tourism year in Bermuda’s history?
Who buys a mansion with $300,000? What planet are you on?
Hey man, I hate to correct people online but you misspelled Dan Simmons, you know the former head of the PTB.
Yeah or when we gave a guy $450,000 to attract religious people and he bought a mansion and took trips instead.
It probably took a week to build the bus in Holland or where ever it came from.
I guess reading the article is asking a lot
Only 3 months to prepare it for Bermuda’s roads!
Does it not seem incredibly, ridiculously long time to get the bus on the road? 4 months! Why so, so, so long when we have such a shortage. Who can answer this question?
So the mechanics can have more compartments to hold stuff…
So what took three months?
I guess it will take the same time frame for the second bus to be on the road…4 months.
Give them a month and they’ll look like the other filthy sooty buses travelling the highways and byways of Bermuda. No excuses for the way our public transportation looks. Wonder what our guests say?
3 months,4 months or nearly 5 months,whatever the time it took was way over the top.
I wonder how much Overtime was paid for this out of the Public purse.
3 noo bussas ah year.
jUST IMAgine if one gets a flatt.
Some people are making millions…..
This I a joke right? Why does it take 4 months to prep a bus for Bermuda’s use? 100% crap or a major deficiency in the Procurement process where we should buy what we need versus spend extra time and money trying to rig it!
Dumb just dumb.
Thank you OBA!
a lot of bus mechanics in the comment section. what a joke people make me laugh when they think they know it all subtute nonato
What do we need more buses for here in bda it’s a waste, fix and repurpose the older ones, so we have less of a bus graveyard…. so when is the PTB gonna put accountability in place so we dont run into these consistant issues, fixing a bus doesnt cost 300k but it seems thats the only fix ptb provides, as a tax payer i watch both govts piss money away against the wall. Step up bda actually try fixing something instead of playing the 20+ year running blame game.
I give it a week before its pictured on its back wheels in wheelie position or behind a wall. Like all the other new stuff.
don’t mean to be thick about this but why are brand new buses in need of three months’ work before they are put into service? for what DPT is paying for them, shouldn’t they be delivered in road ready condition?
and I agree with ‘Jokers’, repairing the current fleet couldn’t possibly cost as much per unit as new vehicles. if there are current vehicles that are beyond repair or upgrade, can’t they be parted out with their still useful bits used to keep other vehicles in service?
no one has explained, after all this time, why DPT can only receive one new bus every six months. and despite the question being asked over and over, no one has explained why government is charging itself duty on the new vehicles.
It took so long because they crashed it a couple of months ago on a test run.
not a moment too soon ! yesterday at Henry VIII cruise grp of 4 told me two full buses had passed them by. they were so unhappy they said ‘ it’s our first and last trip to Bermuda’.. perhaps not justified but that’s how they felt..
Most of you sound like little children, how many new buses did the OBA supply for the public who rely on the bus on a regular basis, who were born here and are still here long after those from America’s cup packed their bags and left.
So stop with the faux outrage.
Actually, the 2 received this year were ordered under the OBA government. They just arrived after the election
The specs of these new buses are not conducive to Bermuda roads….PTB has to do major renovations (they are kidding us right) to the bus for it to fit on our streets. Soooooooo – what started out as a $300,000 bus has probably now cost $375,000. WooHooo…..get ya bus on.