Log In

Reset Password
BERMUDA | RSS PODCAST

MPs debate merit of GPS

Transport Minister Dr. Ewart Brown introduced controversial new legislation in the House of Assembly yesterday that would require taxi operators to adopt the Global Positioning System (GPS).

The purpose of the Motor Car Amendment Act "is not to impose my personal will or impose financial burden, but to modernise the (taxi) industry by improving communication," said Dr. Brown.

"The issue of service was brought early in my tenure and I have been trying to establish dialogue. I learned that the taxi industry does not speak with one voice. There are 550 owners and 700 different opinions."

Dr. Brown said he had made "every effort to include everyone" in talks to improve service in the industry and noted that the meeting held on February 8, 2001 at St. Paul's Centennial Hall had been the largest ever meeting between Government and taxi operators.

He told the House his ministry had brought in the manufacturer of the GPS system, who gave a detailed account of how the equipment works: "He brought the equipment to the meeting so they could touch it, feel it and smell it.

"We told them why we wanted to introduce it and we encouraged them to take ownership."

Dr. Brown said that one interested group did approach the ministry after the meeting.

He told MPs that he had a consultative approach with the stakeholders and continued to meet with them and urge them to take ownership of their industry.

And he said that additional meetings in the past two to three weeks show that the ministry has an ongoing dialogue with taxi operators.

Citing three surveys to buttress his case that the taxi industry needs to be improved, Dr. Brown said 73 percent of those surveyed in a Government poll voted in favour of GPS and that 72 percent of those surveyed by in a Royal Gazette website poll voted the same way. Additionally, 52 percent of those that responded to a Bermuda Sun opinion poll on the local taxi service said service was very good or good while 40 percent said it was poor or awful.

He said the proposed initiative gives taxi owners the ability to subscribe to different companies and said his ministry was looking at allowing the importation of "reconditioned taxis".

Dr. Brown further reported that he would make amendments which would allow all taxi operators to have a choice of companies, have two-way radios and that he would extend the grace period.

"Some have suggested that only a radio and dispatching is needed. But while radios are good, we think more is needed. The radio system still leaves it open to taxi stealing."

Dr. Brown noted that when the United Bermuda Party held power, presentations had been made to them and they had agreed with the system.

He read an email that had been sent to Director of Transport Control, Kevin Monkman from a local couple who had to argue with a cab driver for more than ten minutes before he left in a huff, cursing them.

The incident arose, read the email, as two cab drivers had responded to the same call and one refused to leave, physically blocking the other, which had already boarded the passengers.

While admitting the incident was not the norm, Dr. Brown said it highlighted the serious problems that existed with the service.

Dr. Brown listed the advantages of the GPS system as being fourfold:

"Speed will be an advantage. In the radio system it can take as much as 15 minutes during busy times before a request is even broadcast," he said.

"The computerised system locates the closest taxi and assigns him to the job. No one else knows," he said.

A second advantage was that all taxi calls would be treated equally, though special services could be easily offered to frequent customers, including faster service.

A `panic button' to alert the dispatcher and all other taxis as to the location of a driver in trouble offered yet another advantage, he told MPs.

And the collection of statistics - "hard data", brought a fourth advantage, Dr. Brown said.

"Right now, the only information we have is manual from dispatchers and we can only take information from metered cabs when the metres are on," he said.

"We will be able to make informed decisions and monitor the standard of performance (with the computerised system)."

Dr. Brown also sought to allay concerns that GPS will act as a `big brother', over taxi drivers.

"The purpose of GPS is not to watch any person. The system will be used only when a dispatched and when a taxi is in distress so that others can come to his aid," he added.

Shadow Transport Minister Erwin Adderley questioned that if the GPS system was so good, why was it meeting such resistance from taxi drivers.

"Everyone wants an improved taxi service, and it is the duty of the minister to provide that service. But we don't feel it will provide that service," he said.

"Normally, when service is going to improve they do research and consult the stakeholder, not confront them," he added.

"The majority of taxi operators and us (the UBP) are not convinced that GPS will improve service... I've heard nothing that makes me believe a little old lady on Parson's Road or anywhere will be able to get a cab any faster."

Mr. Adderley said he thought Dr. Browns amendment to allow operators a choice of service provider had not been reached through consultation, but because a lawyer had looked at it and said that it went against human rights.

He said he did not believe there was room in Bermuda for more than one company. He also held that the system would result in dispatching companies reporting cabs that do not have GPS and then pressuring Government to give them that business.

He added that the taxi business was like fishing, and drivers go to where the fish are.

His comment provoked howls from the PLP bench, with MP Rev. Larry Lowe saying that GPS is widely used in fishing.

"GPS is how we find the fish, it's how we find the fish," Rev. Lowe said.

Mr. Adderley also questioned what is the penalty would be for turning off the GPS. He asked. "Once they turn GPS off, the dispatcher will report a driver has refused a fare and then Government will be interfering in the way private people run their business," he said.

Responding to some jeering that taxis are public service vehicles, Mr. Adderley agreed but said: "They have been operating this way all along."

"The taxi industry don't know how they will be regulated," he said, "If you think this is so good then make it optional and they will all eventually buy into it."

Warwick West MP Elvin James said one of the benefits of the system is that you can reject it and he said that when a driver rejects a call, the system will go to the next closest person in the zone.

" This is where the dispatching service comes in - when they refuse several calls," he said.

Mr. James said the legislation showed Government and the minister care about the industry. He accused the UBP of shirking their responsibility to handle the problem when they were Government because of "fear of political suicide".

"There are 600 cabs and 3,000 drivers and they were a bunch of cowards who thought those are votes that will cost us the election," he said.

Mr. James also reiterated Dr. Brown's comments on the advantages of the new system, noting that the panic button is sorely needed by taxi operators who are often prey to thieves.

"We've had cab drivers who have had acid thrown in their face, who have been stabbed and badly beaten and a cell phone just doesn't work in these situations," he said.

"In this system, all drivers would be alerted to the location of the problem."

Mr. James also said that the minister's wish to have taxi operators take charge of their industry presented "a real possibility they will take a bigger piece of the pie. In the end I think they will thank this ministry," he said.

Pembroke West MP Jamahl Simmons said that the GPS system posed serious health risks and could result in drivers contracting cancer. He asked why Government had not disseminated any information about the health risks.

"There are health risks to motor data terminals. As used in the proposed GPS system they generate a wide range of electromagnetic fields," he said.

Mr. Simmons said that studies have led researchers at the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to recommend that extreme low frequency radiation be designated a "probable human carcinogen".

Mr. Simmons listed problems that could be caused from the low frequency radiation emitted from the units, such as chronic fatigue, headaches, vision disorders, nausea, menstrual cycle problems, sleep disorders, miscarriages, birth defects, leukaemia and cancer.

Mr. Simmons said the bulk of radiation would be emitted from the sides of the units and he noted that liklihood of problems increased with length of exposure to the radiation. He said divers and front seat passengers were put at the highest risk and added that no filter system has passed a test to say it reduces exposure.

Mr. Simmons further pointed out that the screen on the terminal could pose an increased hazard for older drivers as they have to split their concentration between the road and the screen.

Mr. Simmons also said the GPS units were sensitive to extreme temperatures and that on hot summer days that would force cab drivers to keep their vehicles air-conditioned, even when no one was inside.

Mr. Simmons also questioned if the system would lead to cabs being restricted to certain zones and pointed to Boston, Massachusettes as an example of where such a situation resulted in kickbacks to government officials there by cab drivers and dispatchers for preferred zones.

Government MP Delaey Robinson said many of comments from the Opposition were "extraordinary" and said that the issue was really one of service. He said the former Government "was so petrified of losing votes, it was unable to carry out some its own policies".

Mr. Robinson described his personal experiences as a hotelier, with the service problem in the industry, and said that he often has to take visitors to the airport himself despite booking a cab the night before. He said that although he and his wife always call the dispatch company to cancel the cab before they decide to take a guest to the airport - that often the cab still arrives.

He raised the possibility that many drivers might be afraid the new system will be too advanced for them to grasp and that they will not be able to use it, but he urged them to not be afraid or embarrassed to ask questions.

Government backbencher Dale Butler said it was no good attracting more tourists if they did not get good service from taxis and other services when they arrive.

The Monitor Group and other studies had consistently found complaints about service. There were always pioneers who saw the benefits of innovations such as technology before others.

The taxi industry had to look at how it was operating and it was unfortunate they could not unite, but Transport Minister Dr. Ewart Brown had not bullied them, he said.

Mr. Butler also said he would not be "intimidated" by taxi drivers in his constituency who threatened to vote him out of office if he agreed with GPS. He said they should exercise their democratic right to vote against them if they wished, but he would not be held to ransom by any group in his constituency.

Government issued permits to taxis because they were public service vehicles so it had the right to insist on minimum standards of service.

Bermudians were inevitably suspicious about people involved in any venture, by casting aspersions on their integrity because they had a "finger in the pie".

It was right to quash the myth that Dr. Brown had any financial interest in the company that will run the GPS system. He warned against those who thought "we can rile up the public by saying he's got a finger in the pie. That's the Bermudian way".

He recognised the fear of taxi drivers and said it was a legitimate concern to question whether the new system would guarantee extra profits.

One way of encouraging reluctant drivers to join the system sooner might be to increase the costs the longer they waited so that those who signed up at the beginning would get it for a cheaper rate. he suggested Government could have included this.

@EDITRULE:

Coverage of Motor Car Amendment Act continues in Tuesday's Royal Gazette.

See Page 5 for more from the House