HAMILTON, Bermuda–December 11th, 2020–The Bermuda Department of Public Transportation has informed the public that the public bus service has been suspended by order of the Ministry of Health pending completion of an assessment.
The DPT says that a member of staff has tested positive for COVID-19 and that the department is liaising with the Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit for guidance. The decision has been made to suspend the public bus service until an assessment from the Ministry of Health is completed.
The DPT says that the positive COVID-19 results were received by DPT management yesterday evening and the staff member who tested positive is not customer facing, so presumably not a bus driver or ticket vendor.
The DPT has apologized for the inconvenience, but claims that this is the best decision at this time.
Presumably this suspension represents a boon for taxi drivers and alternative means of transportation for workers and school children.
Back in May of this year Bermuda’s bus operators declared a unanimous vote of no confidence in the Department of Public Transportation’s (DPT) leadership, headed up by Roger Todd over a disagreement in how to implement CDC infection control guidelines on Bermuda’s narrow buses, with management saying 17 passengers could be safely carried, but the drivers saying only 9.
Bermuda has done well in managing the Covid-19 pandemic so far, but Covid-19 numbers now appear to be surging in the Midatlantic island archipelago and 24 new cases were reported yesterday.
