Our taxi industry is for ever in a quagmire of bickering, blame and protests. The complaints year after year are the same.

On the one hand, we have the fare-paying public who say that taxis are hard to come by after hours, that it is difficult to get a taxi to or from either end of the island at night, that prices are too high, that services are too slow and drivers too rude or unwilling to transport the wet, the sandy or the drunk.

On the other hand, taxi-industry leaders say that there are not enough licensed taxis on the road since operating costs are prohibitive from petrol prices to cars and car parts, and the competition from minicar rentals and minibuses is too high. The main beef, of course, is that meter rates are too low, with no increase since 2014. This lack of rate change since 2014 appears to be the root of all evil.

The argument goes that if rates go up, more taxis will be on the road for longer and, presumably, there would be more of a willingness by operators to drive those of us who have had too much to drink, have come from the beach or have arrived off a delayed flight from the airport — and everything in between.

In other words, at its most simplistic, it is a cost vs benefit analysis. I do understand that argument.

However, is it that simple? In short, no. It seems to me that the riding public would be far more sympathetic to a rate increase if the legislation that already exists is followed and actually enforced.

For example, per the Motor Taxi Regulations 1952 (as amended), “the driver of a taxi shall not, while the taxi is standing or plying for hire, refuse to accept a passenger for a lawful journey.” In other words, those drivers that refuse to take a lawful fare need to be reported and fined. How many times have you gone to a taxi rank and the driver says, “Sorry, this is going to be my last fare and I live in Southampton, I am not going to St George’s”? Or something similar? It is unfair to the vast majority of amazing taxi drivers that do follow the regulations to be tarnished by those that do not.

In addition, the legislated behaviour and dress code of drivers needs to be enforced. The regulations are clear: “... the driver of a taxi ... shall be polite and respectful in conduct, be neat and clean in appearance, and be correctly dressed. A driver shall be deemed to be correctly dressed if his dress complies with the following — a shirt (or blouse for women drivers) with collar and sleeves, made of closely woven material, shall be worn. The shirt (or blouse) must not be worn outside trousers or skirt unless designed for that purpose; a sweater and a jacket and tie may be worn if desired; trousers or Bermuda shorts shall be worn with socks or solid-colour, knee-length stockings respectively; skirts or dresses of or near knee-length may be worn by women drivers; dress shoes, boots or moccasin shoes shall be worn, but not leisure shoes, sneakers or foot coverings likely to cause the driver to lose control of the taxi, such as flip flops, clogs or sandals; only headgear with a brim or peak may be worn; articles of dress made of dungarees or denim or which are multicoloured may not be worn.” Enough said on that — but note the word “shall”.

Furthermore, the existing requirement that taxis need to be on the road for 16 hours a day is clearly ignored, yet the regulations state proper records need to be kept by both the taxi operators and dispatchers. So, unless they are checked, why bother with the rule?

Separate from the regulations, there needs to be a central-dispatching taxi system either by way of one agreed app that allows advance booking and payments, and one phone number. I looked at this in 2017 as home affairs minister and believed one dispatching entity set up between the existing providers, with shares issued to the present dispatch companies based on the number of registered drivers at a certain date, would be the most equitable way forward.

The Hitch app was a start; however, Hitch customers are paying a service fee which is not legislated (see page 79 of the Government’s 2019 Transport Green Paper) and the advertised rates on Hitch’s webpage are higher than those in the regulations.

It is equally absurd that there is no legal requirement for taxis to accept credit cards. Just the other day, I walked past a taxi rank and heard a potential passenger ask three different drivers if they took cards. All said no.

I am sure you will agree that the vast majority of taxi drivers are excellent. They do actually give a darn — despite the noise to the contrary — but the industry is tainted by the few owing to lack of enforcement of existing regulations and fractured because of the way taxis are owned and dispatched. The public, from residents to tourists and the drivers themselves, deserve the best. Our “Bermuda ambassadors” need to call out those operators and owners that break the regulations, and the Government with its 30-6 majority needs to consider as a matter of urgency what is outlined in the 2019 Green Paper — which from page 79 lays out numerous other issues and potential solutions.

There needs to be wholesale reform to the industry. We all know it. However, broad reform of the taxi industry is as tough as tackling immigration.

Former premier Ewart Brown discovered this when he brought in GPS legislation, and I felt it when I led the charge with the minicar legislation — despite concessions being made for taxi owners on the purchase of second-hand vehicles. Both initiatives were the right thing to do, but the taxi-industry leadership fought against both, despite the greater good to Bermuda.

The truth is major change is unlikely to come because both political parties believe that reform means they will not get the vote of the taxi owners and operators. That is a complete falsehood and is as unwise as believing that all status holders would vote en masse for the One Bermuda Alliance. Taxi owners and operators are not “sheeple”, and each individual will vote for what is in their own best-perceived interest.

If we want to be even close to solving the issues that exist, we need to be real and not held hostage by the few. Instead of our typical nibbling at the edges of the legislation in place, we need a wholesale rewrite of the regulations and then actually follow and enforce what is passed in Parliament. In the meantime, follow and enforce the regulations and raise the rates.

Remember, “Any change, even a change for the better, is always accompanied by drawbacks and discomforts” (Arnold Bennett).

Over to you, Minister Furbert.

• Michael Fahy was the Government Senate Leader and Cabinet minister in the One Bermuda Alliance government from 2012 to 2017. Thoughts or comments to opedfahy@gmail.com

UPDATE: this story has been amended to remove the incorrect comment that Hitch is not licensed and potentially illegal. We apologise for any inconvenience caused