A professional chauffeur company is expanding to help support public transport and taxi services in time for Christmas.

HomeSafe Bermuda employs vetted drivers to transport customers home in their own four-wheeled vehicles when they are unable to do so themselves.

The driver returns to base on a foldable electric motorcycle that was packed in the trunk of the customer’s car after dropping off the customer.

The service now has access to at least five more foldable bikes and will be set up along Front Street on the weekends running up to Christmas.

During this period, there is traditionally an uptick in road crashes from to impaired driving.

It was launched in 2017 by Carlton Crockwell, chief operating officer at Security Associates, after Bermuda Security Group introduced the concept, based on a model in Cayman.

Mr Crockwell, a former chairman of the Bermuda Road Safety Council, told The Royal Gazette’s Drive for Change campaign: “We are working with the Corporation of Hamilton so that during Christmas and summertime, we can have a booth in Hamilton on Front Street and have a few guys waiting there able to take you home.

“My team will be there on December 13, 14, 15 and then 20, 21 and 22 through Christmas.

“We have enough electric, fold-up bikes on the island to accommodate now. We will rent them for the weekends. We will get you home.”

Drivers for HomeSafe Bermuda are trained security officers who have been vetted and licensed by the Bermuda Police Service.

Since the introduction of roadside sobriety checkpoints there have been complaints within the community about a lack of a reliable taxi service during the late hours of the weekends.

Taxi drivers pointed to problems with drunk passengers and security, but said the industry was aiming to work to improve service using its existing fleet.

Mr Crockwell said HomeSafe does not intend to provide competition to the taxi service.

He said: “This is not to infringe on taxis, we are joining the transportation system.

“We provide a car delivery service, we don’t try to take any of their business — we are the only service in Bermuda that does it.

“The peace of mind I give the taxi drivers is that we are here to partner with you. We are not going to pick people up if they don’t have a car with them.”

Mr Crockwell said he sees potential for jobs to be created if the demand is there. “I see a lot of Bermudians being employed by HomeSafe Bermuda especially during the season. It is definitely a job maker.”

He is working on a concept where regular customers can leave a spare key with the company in a secure lock so that they can be picked up even when they left their vehicle in a different location.

HomeSafe is working on a general campaign to help raise awareness of road safety in Bermuda. It had adverts placed on the big screen at the World Rugby Classic and is working on branded beer coasters to be placed in bars around the island.

“Since I stepped down from the Road Safety Council, the deaths went down but they came back up again and can I sit back and do nothing?

“I don’t think I can and this is us doing something. The whole objective is to save lives.”