Transport Minister Shawn Crockwell is being urged to ensure that a promised overhaul of the taxi industry is implemented ahead of the busy summer season.

And taxi bosses have also presented a wishlist of further improvements in order to “move the industry forward”.

Minister Crockwell promised a raft of legislative reforms — including a 25 percent hike in fares — last October after months of consultation with drivers and operators.

Yesterday Bermuda Taxi Owners/Operators Association president Derek Young reminded Mr Crockwell that he had “guaranteed” that the changes would go before Parliament this month “and implemented soon after, once passed through the House and Senate.

“Among our proposals are a metered rate increase, ability to take up to seven people in the cab for an extra charge, adjustment in the chartered tour rate and moving the license and insurance period to a time more convenient than it presently is,” Mr Young said.

“We also look forward to legislation being laid on restrictions, rules and regulations for minibuses.

“We are all in the transportation business so we should all have rules and guidelines to go by.

“Going forward for this new year, our aim will be to address further concerns.

“We would like to be able to bring in second-hand vehicles for taxi use, instead of being forced to buy a brand new vehicle when our old one fails.

“We all are in hard times and we should be allowed to use our own discretion when purchasing vehicles and running our business.

“We also need to have fair competition across the board in transportation and most of all we want to see the Government allow a taxi authority to be set up so that we can run and direct our own industry.

“Our main goal is to provide great customer service to the public along with reliable and dependable transportation.

“We will always gets some complaints, but we strive to deliver and be on time, every time. We encourage the public to support us as we try to move our industry forward.”