Guam - After displaying its oldest operating bus to lawmakers yesterday morning, the Department of Public Works reiterated what it told lawmakers last August, that its bus operations have reached a crisis level.  "We're running out of time, that's all I can tell you is some of these things we're running out of time, we can only band aid the situation for only so long," said Joanne Brown.

It's a statement DPW has reiterated time and time again regarding its aging and overworked bus fleet. Inclusive of the 22-year-old operating bus put on display yesterday, DPW has 47 buses that are between 14 to 20 years old with an additional 25 DODEA buses that have expired its lifespan.  Brown, DPW's director, noted that the DPW staff has been doing more with less and it's evident the department has reached a crisis level.

"And if there's an expectation that we're going to continue to provide the service there's going to have to be an investment. 39,000 children a day get transported by DPW, no one on Guam - including the military - moves that many people on any single day, every school day, but you can't run that on a continuously aging fleet with limited resources, that's not possible," she said.

As previously noted to senators in August, DPW's operations continues to decline in terms of resources, manpower and funding along with increased responsibilities such as offering more routes for additional schools. she even noted how mechanics and staff have modified materials to make their tools even using a fork lift to raise up a bus to repair it. By the end of next month, DPW is expected to lose another mechanic to its already decreased 13 count and before the end of the fiscal year, they are expected to lose another four to five buses that will no longer have a viable life opportunity to continue operating. and although the current budget currently prohibits dpw from hiring additional mechanics, she hopes by bringing the attention to senators who ultimately decide the budget, some improvement is necessary.

On the bright side, DPW is expected to receive up to five new 80 passenger buses to its fleet from a $1.2 million grant from the Department of Interior once all the paper work is processed at the Department of Administration.