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How is the bus situation now?


sternwhale
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When I visited Bermuda 5 years ago, I recall public transportation was great. Have heard that buses were on reduced schedule and not as reliable as before? I am thinking of taking my parents and 4 y/o to Warwick long beach so debating on whether to take #7 bus there vs. take the minivan to HSB and walk over.

 

Anyone could share recent experience?

 

Thanks

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Due to both an aging bus fleet experiencing frequent breakdowns and long standing labor disputes between the bus drivers union and the government bus service has really gone downhill in the past couple of years. It's not uncommon for 90 or more scheduled bus runs a day to be cancelled, and this past Monday, on a major holiday, there was no bus service at all because the drivers refused to work.

 

We used to ride the buses everywhere, now we avoid them.

 

A couple of years ago the special express nonstop #7 bus service between Dockyard and Horseshoe Bay was discontinued altogether.

 

Your best bets for transportation between Dockyard and Horseshoe Bay are either the minibus shuttles at $7 pp each way, or even a taxi. There have been some reports of minibus drivers being willing to drop passengers at Warwick Long Bay, but I have no personal experience confirming that. Even if a driver is willing to take you to Warwick Long Bay you'll have to walk back to Horseshoe Bay to pick a shuttle for your return trip.

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In 2016 we were able to take the mini bus to Warwick Long Bay. It was an extra $1 per person. They dropped everyone at horseshoe first, then took us onto Warwick. We walked the beach path to Horseshoe and returned to the Dockyard. I am hoping to do the same again on our cruise in two weeks.

 

 

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Articles linked to below will give a flavor to the current situation. They are from Bermuda’s local press. 175 bus runs were canceled yesterday (Thursday) a normal weekday. The other two articles are on the labor dispute that happened on the Monday holiday.

 

http://bernews.com/2018/06/ministry-65-bus-runs-cancelled-thursday/

 

http://www.royalgazette.com/labour/article/20180622/tourists-residents-frustrated-with-ptb-industrial-action

 

http://www.royalgazette.com/news/article/20180622/minibus-services-cash-in-on-public-bus-work-to-rule

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Articles linked to below will give a flavor to the current situation. They are from Bermuda’s local press. 175 bus runs were canceled yesterday (Thursday) a normal weekday. The other two articles are on the labor dispute that happened on the Monday holiday.

 

http://bernews.com/2018/06/ministry-65-bus-runs-cancelled-thursday/

 

http://www.royalgazette.com/labour/article/20180622/tourists-residents-frustrated-with-ptb-industrial-action

 

http://www.royalgazette.com/news/article/20180622/minibus-services-cash-in-on-public-bus-work-to-rule

 

Apparently there has been enough progress made in the talks between the union and management to restore a normal bus schedule, although I'm not sure how much this is going to overcome the problems with the physical condition of the bus fleet. I suppose the mechanics will now be willing to work overtime to repair the buses.

 

http://bernews.com/2018/06/biu-president-chris-furbert-on-work-to-rule/

 

http://www.royalgazette.com/news/article/20180622/bus-service-returns-to-normal

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So buses are bad, are there still water taxi's to Hamilton? Also, what might be the best way to Elbow Bay Beach? I used to enjoy this beach as well, much less crowded than Horseshoe but def not as vibrant of a landscape.

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So buses are bad, are there still water taxi's to Hamilton? Also, what might be the best way to Elbow Bay Beach? I used to enjoy this beach as well, much less crowded than Horseshoe but def not as vibrant of a landscape.

 

There is no water taxi to Hamilton, but there is a ferry. The best way to EB would be the ferry to Hamilton then a taxi to EB. BTW, do you mean the public Elbow Beach, not the resort? Public EB is less crowded then Horseshoe Bay because EB has less in amenities than HSB.

 

SBtS

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So buses are bad, are there still water taxi's to Hamilton? Also, what might be the best way to Elbow Bay Beach? I used to enjoy this beach as well, much less crowded than Horseshoe but def not as vibrant of a landscape.

 

 

The ferries to Hamilton have not been affected by the bus system disputes and maintenance issues. There are a reduced number of ferries this year on the Blue Route but the schedule is still workable.

 

For Elbow Bay personally I would take a taxi. If at the Dockyard I would either take the ferry to Hamilton and a taxi from Hamilton or take a taxi directly from the Dockyard.

 

I like your comparison. The reason I prefer Horseshoe is because the landscape is more vibrant. I am going to steal that phrase. [emoji3] Elbow is not as vibrant but is still a very nice beach.

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Off the Escape June 24th, DO NOT USE THE BUS !!! How I wish I would have read more threads. Bought the 2 day bus pass, first day off to Gibb's Lighthouse, we waited at the Dockyard 1 hour 10 minutes to board the bus. Saw the lighthouse, which was very nice and the views were great. Walked down the hill and waited, and waited, and waited some more for the bus, saw one pass after 50 minutes...it never stopped. So we started to walk to Horseshoe Bay, never did see another bus pass. Enjoyed the beach greatly, walked down the sand path toward Warwick and headed to that bus stop to go back to the Dockyard, waited almost 80 minutes for the bus, finally came and picked us up. Talking with a government worker on the bus he informed us of all the busses out of service, the drivers not wanting to work overtime, very difficult to get a bus after 5pm. It was awful before 5, couldn't imagine it would be worse. The first day was extremely frustrating trying to do the bus system, we decided to eat the cost of the passes and NOT try the second day. We took the ferry to St. George and enjoyed Tobacco Bay. Next time we visit Bermuda we will each get a scooter and go explore on our own.

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Came back yesterday. Did not use bus based on the advice from the board. Took the mini van. Some drivers are nicer than others. We were lucky with one driver who was willing to drop us off at Warwick and did not charge us extra. My daughter was tired after playing at Warwick for hours but could not find any taxi back. There were a few earlier on but disappeared at around noon. So dragged her back to horseshoe bay and got a mini van back to dockyard.

 

Ferry was fine. Used both public ferry and Norwegian free ferry and they both ran well.

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I forgot to mention when I spoke to the girl at visitor center at dockyard, she mentioned number 7 bus situation was pretty bad but other buses might be ok. We did use bus from st George to the cave and there seemed to have frequent bus services on that route on the day we visited.

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Came back yesterday. Did not use bus based on the advice from the board. Took the mini van. Some drivers are nicer than others. We were lucky with one driver who was willing to drop us off at Warwick and did not charge us extra. My daughter was tired after playing at Warwick for hours but could not find any taxi back. There were a few earlier on but disappeared at around noon. So dragged her back to horseshoe bay and got a mini van back to dockyard.

 

Ferry was fine. Used both public ferry and Norwegian free ferry and they both ran well.

Do you mind explaining the NCL free ferry? Thanks!

 

Sent from my HTC U11 life using Tapatalk

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Do you mind explaining the NCL free ferry? Thanks!

 

NCL offers a complimentary ferry to St George's and return only for its' passengers. Everyone else must use the public ferry. The ferry makes 4 round trips on Mon, Wed & Thurs, 3 on Tues, and 1 on Fri. It does no operate on weekends. Are you on NCL?

 

SBtS

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NCL offers a complimentary ferry to St George's and return only for its' passengers. Everyone else must use the public ferry. The ferry makes 4 round trips on Mon, Wed & Thurs, 3 on Tues, and 1 on Fri. It does no operate on weekends. Are you on NCL?

 

SBtS

I'm sailing on ncl in October. Thanks

 

Sent from my HTC U11 life using Tapatalk

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