Drivers supporting new taxi tracking technology planned by Government say it will slash passenger waiting times and help drivers be more efficient.

Officials in Bermuda Central Dispatch Corporation (BCDC) said most of the opposition to the Global Position System (GPS) comes from older drivers who are not stakeholders in the industry and who are unwilling to get to grips with the new technology.

Opponents of GPS want Government to enforce the use of radios in cabs.

BCDC Secretary Alaine Mouchette said: "If they think radios are the answer, they don't need permission from Government."

BCDC Legislative Affairs spokesman Junior Fostine-DeSilva said: "If radios were so successful why is the industry using cell phones? It's 50-year-old technology, it's no longer needed."

He said GPS was 15 times faster at dispatching jobs. He said currently dispatchers had to issue a call and then assess who was nearest, a process which could take some minutes while other jobs stacked up.

"This system doesn't have to listen to drivers, it knows where they are," said Mr. Fostine-DeSilva.

"If the driver doesn't get the correct information they have to call back and disturb the dispatcher."

Mr. Fostine-DeSilva said drivers who were refusing jobs at the east and west ends of the island were cutting their own throats because they had no idea of what it cost to get there.

A zone system would stop drivers having to make long journeys to pick up fares said Mr. Fostine-DeSilva meaning that customers wouldn't have to wait more than 15 minutes for a cab.

Last week, anti-GPS driver Gordon Flood threatened to pretend he had a puncture to avoid jobs he didn't want under the new scheme.

Mrs. Mouchette said this was an insult to the intelligence of drivers.

She said: "It's our business to provide a service. That's how we make money."

Drivers could refuse a few jobs with GPS but persistent job avoidance would be dealt with said Mrs. Mouchette.

Mr. Fostine-DeSilva said in the "worst case scenario" of a driver in Devonshire being summoned to St. David's just to take a passenger on a mile journey and pick up a $4.80 fare it was still worth going.

He said petrol and depreciation would knock off more than $1.30 of the fare but the rest would be profit. The new system would also stop cabbies taking each other's jobs said Mr. Fostine-DeSilva.

"If, during Cup Match, people can't get taxis for two or three hours Government has the right to come into the dispatch companies and ask where the taxis were, how many were working, if out of the 600 taxis 400 drivers were parked playing golf."

He said the new system would end favouritism in the industry with dispatchers handing out jobs to family and friends.

He said: "That's a terrible problem at the moment."

Laws requiring taxis to be on the road 16 hours a day could be relaxed said Mrs. Mouchette, as the system would draw more efficient use out of the ones in circulation.

"Our only concern is can we deliver the service."

There would be no need for Transport Control Department officers to hunt for parked taxis said Mrs. Mouchette.

BCDC President Gladwyn Bean issued a challenge to the anti-GPS lobby.

He said: "We will debate with them on the whole issue."

The new system will log every house in Bermuda said Mr. Fostine-DeSilva. Once callers have given their names and details they would be kept in the system so next time they called they could just specify their name and the time they wished to be picked up.

He said: "We tell the customer the cabbies number and what time they will get there. We can hit a call back button and tell the customer 'your taxi's in your yard'."

GPS will also allow people to be picked up at regular times each day without having to call every time - the computer would select a cab nearest the house and have it arrive on time, said Mrs. Mouchette.

He said drivers would still be allowed to pick up regular customers via cellphones if they wished.

The new system will also allow people to pay by credit card.

Mr. Fostine-DeSilva said the systems were cheaper than previous estimate of $2,000. He said: "It's $1,500 including installation."

Mrs. Mouchette said Transport Minister Dr. Ewart Brown was a man of courage and vision while Mr. Fostine-DeSilva said previous transport ministers had failed to grasp what GPS could do.

Mr. Fostine-DeSilva added: "Wayne Furbert said it was too sophisticated, he didn't grasp what it could do."

Gordon Flood, who is one of the leaders of the anti-GPS lobby, declined the opportunity to respond to claims made by the BCDC.

He said: "We have been through that. They are for it and we are against it."

@EDITRULE:

Taxi drivers opposed to planned laws to bring in a cab tracking system met with Premier Jennifer Smith last night, but were sworn to secrecy by Government.

The Royal Gazette understands the drivers presented their proposals to improve the cab system and stave off the global position system which they say is too intrusive.

A further meeting is planned but no date has been set said a source.