Taxi owners voiced their opposition to the possible introduction of rideshare apps and a “devaluing” of taxi permits at a meeting last night.

Representatives from the Bermuda Taxi Owners and Operators Association told attendees that they understood that changes proposed by the Government would reduce the cost of a taxi permit from $100,000 to $40,000.

Taxi owners would receive three annual $20,000 reimbursement payments to make up for the difference.

Leo Simmons, of the BTOA, said: “They are talking about making our permits $40,000 and over a three-year period reimbursing us $60,000 in $20,000 instalments. We, the executive of the BTOA, strongly object to it.

“Also in there, they were talking about ‘shared ride’ so anybody that had a private car can do taxi work. In this shared ride, a person will not be able to get into the hotel lines or the airport lines, but if someone in the hotel pushes the share-ride app, that private car can now drive into the hotel and pick up that person.

“It’s an expansion of what we have now with Hitch, but while Hitch just caters to taxis this will cater to all transportation. We have objected to that and let our displeasures be known but it has fallen on deaf ears.

“It is time now for the owners to take a stand because if government have their way and implement this, we need to understand the shortfall.”

Mr Simmons said the “devaluing” of the taxi permits could cause challenges for drivers who have used their permits as collateral for other transactions.

Meanwhile, he said that taxi owners who let others rent their vehicle could lose out as the driver could use their own private vehicles under the rideshare option.

Mr Simmons said that the taxi industry had been used as a scapegoat for problems in the transportation sector including bus cancellations and limited options for public transport overnight.

“People are quick to talk about a lack of taxis but no one talks about the cancellations of the buses,” he said “No one talks about the ferry service that stops running at 7pm.

“We are expected to carry a load at the expense of the government shortfalls.

“If you look at it, we have cruise ships at one end of the island and an airport at the other end. So the middle sector tends to suffer, and with the cancellations of the buses, it puts a bigger strain on us.”

He said that the group had submitted a series of objections to a government-produced Green Paper on tourism while Lawrence Scott served as the Minister of Transport and had continued discussions with Wayne Furbert when he took over as minister.

However, Mr Simmons said they were told about four months ago that the Green Paper had been turned into a White Paper, which was expected to be brought to Cabinet.

“We are coming up with ideas for government but they keep pushing them back because they want to push their agenda,” he said.

“Everything that we have talked about as far as rate increases, moving the Rate 3 back to 10pm or 9pm, they keep saying they will give it to us but we have to accept all the other stuff that they want to push on us.”

Several taxi operators voiced frustration with issues with the island’s taxi dispatching, particularly after midnight, which left passengers angry and upset.

However, Mr Simmons said that news could be coming in the near future about potential changes that could improve the issue.

Owners also noted that a pair of channels on the telecommunications app Telegram had been created to help customers get taxis – Hotel Restaurant Cruise and Type for a Taxi.

The BTOA will host a second meeting tomorrow for both taxi owners and operators at Young Men’s Social Club at 7pm.