Taxi driver Joe L. Brown yesterday criticised the call to withdraw taxi services, saying that there had been far more important issues that his colleagues had not responded to.

"It's ridiculous - the GPS system is nothing that should trouble the industry," he said.

Mr. Brown said that he was making a decent living as a driver because he works hard looking for jobs.

"I'm not prepared to sit on my laurels and wait for the work to come to me. Some people only work at the airport and sometimes if the loads are light they are not going to make any money."

He added that he was in favour of GPS but did not think that he should be forced to pay for it.

"I make a very good living without it in any case so I have no need for it to make money," he said. "So if you want me to have it why should I pay for it ?"

He acknowledged that the industry had suffered some loss of income over the years because of the tourism downturn.

"But GPS is not taking money out of our pockets. What's eating us are the minibuses and the taxi people are doing nothing about it," he said.

In addition to the tourism downturn, matters were made worse for the industry when Government allowed more than 50 community service vehicles and more than 20 minibuses to come online over the years, he said in a letter to the editor.

And 37 additional permits were issued bringing the total number of taxis to 600 and adding some 1100 seats to service less passengers.

And the introduction of the fast ferries was going to add to the competition, he said.

He said some entrepreneurs were making good money ensuring transportation for large groups, by organising drivers without even owning a taxi themselves.

"A lot of people have companies they work for," he said. "Eighty percent of my income comes from companies. This is what drivers have to start doing. So these people, including myself, don't need GPS. There's no need to go to war over it."

He added that Transport Minister Ewart Brown had succeeded in galvanising the industry. But he said that he was not allowed to speak at meetings called by the Bermuda Taxi Association to discuss the issue.

"You've earned the right to relax, not work hard, but you chose the taxi industry to work in. A long hours, hard working industry. We have more than 200,000 less visitors whose spending is down more than $70,000 per year," his letter continues.

"We have minibuses, community service vehicles, dispatching companies and an additional transportation company at the airport all taking money out of the taxi drivers pocket, and we are worrying about something that may come about.

"Some heads are truly in the sand and those individuals, instead of fighting to stop the erosion of our earnings, have the nerve to ask the rest of us to put our heads in the sand as well. Again no choice. Like the Minister it is their way or no way."

Mr. Brown was head of the Bermuda Taxi Federation (BTF) which was run by a committee representing drivers and owners.

"The BTF won a 'shared ride' concept from the previous government which would have allowed us to recover thousands of dollars in lost revenue. The drivers voted that down."

Mr. Brown said that the industry had lost some 62 percent of its earning power since 1987, but GPS had nothing to do with it.

But he criticised Dr. Brown for "one of the most arrogant shows of disdain for our industry" by ignoring the drivers pleas and going ahead with GPS legislation.

The federation, he said, went into "limbo" in December 2000 in order to give the Bermuda Industrial Union (BIU) the opportunity to represent the industry.

But some owners joined the newly formed Association which claims to have the support of 400 of the 500 taxi owners in the country.

It is not known how many drivers will support today's strike action.