Taxi drivers are refusing to work this weekend after transport minister Senator Michael Fahy declined to take his controversial minicar Bill off the table.

The move could have a serious impact on thousands of tourists, as the cruise ship Anthem of the Seas arrives in Dockyard today, and will be joined by the Norwegian Dawn tomorrow.

However, it is believed that not all taxi drivers will be participating in the action, with some expected to work as normal.

About 30 drivers demonstrated against the Motor Car Amendment (No 2) Act 2016 at the House of Assembly yesterday, vowing to withdraw their labour if legislation allowing tourists to rent minicars was not withdrawn. After talks with Leo Simmons, the president of the Bermuda Taxi Owners and Operators Association, Mr Fahy addressed the demonstrators at 6.45pm, accompanied by his One Bermuda Alliance colleague Jeff Sousa.

Mr Fahy, who also spoke to the drivers at a meeting the previous night, told them: “The Bill is not being debated today. It’s not going to come back to the House until we’ve done some consultation, I’ve made that very clear.

“I’m not going to do anything by stealth. I could pass this tonight but I’m not going to do that. I apologise. We’ve made a mistake [and] we got it wrong in terms of how people would react.”

One driver responded: “Our point is, we want it quashed completely. Then if you want to sit down and talk to us, maybe we can work together.”

During the occasionally heated exchange, another driver said: “Surely you can understand our lack of confidence in what you’ve been saying.

“You’ve been our minister for all of five minutes, and the first thing we’re getting from you is definitely going to threaten our livelihood.”

After about 15 minutes outside, Mr Fahy and Mr Sousa returned to the House of Assembly to discuss the matter further.

During this time, Lawrence Scott, the Shadow Minister of Transport, addressed the crowd alongside his Progressive Labour Party colleague Diallo Rabain.

“My political instincts tell me — and I hope [Mr Fahy] proves me wrong — that he’s going to say for some reason they’re not going to pull the Bill,” he said.

After Mr Simmons resumed further talks inside with Mr Fahy and Mr Sousa, he was told that the Bill would not be withdrawn — meaning that it can be tabled again when the House of Assembly resumes in September.

Speaking to The Royal Gazette afterwards, Mr Simmons said that he planned to meet with members over the issue, and did not rule out further demonstrations against the Bill in future.

“With the House finishing up today, it gives us time to reflect,” he said.

“They feel that they’ve offered an olive branch to us. I would like to have seen more of our drivers out today, to let the Government know just how strongly we feel about this.

“We will follow through with our action until Monday; the dispatch companies will not be open, and we’re encouraging taxi drivers not to work in a solidarity protest.”

Earlier, Mr Fahy said he was “extremely disappointed” by the action, but added that work is under way to ensure that there is a minimal service disruption.

“This was especially disappointing given that in no uncertain terms yesterday the Government advised it would carry over the Bill,” he said. “It was also agreed that a committee be struck to examine the said Bill and other long outstanding issues in the transport industry.

“With that said, I remain hopeful that the drivers who are withdrawing their services will reconsider.

“We are working to ensure that cruise ship passengers, air passengers and our visiting hotel guests are not affected and we are doing everything we can to minimise disruption to services overall.”

Part-time taxi driver Shari-Lynn Pringle said not all drivers supported the action or could afford to, and that there would be taxis on the roads over the weekend.

She also emphasised that the BTOA did not represent all taxi drivers, noting that not even half of all of the island’s taxi drivers were present at the meeting on Thursday.

“I just think it’s political,” she said.

While she said she understood they were upset, she added: “I don’t think that this issue is at the point where they need to do something like that.

“There will be drivers working all weekend, that I know for sure. These guys are not unionised. They have no money coming in if they’re not working.”

She added that the public could use the Hitch.bm application instead of calling dispatch.

• Additional reporting by Sideya Dill and Sarah Lagan