Taxi chief Derek Young has defended his members in the wake of complaints about the industry.

Last week, restaurant owners and patrons in St George accused drivers of giving the East End a wide berth, claiming it was almost impossible to get a cab late at night.

But, Bermuda Taxi Owners and Operators president Mr Young has hit back, saying drivers are reluctant to drive long distances to the old town for a fare that often is not there.

“Many St George’s establishments have told drivers and dispatch companies that they have their own personal drivers that provide transportation on their behalf,” Mr Young said.

“Knowing this, a taxi driver is not going to hang around St George’s late at night hoping for a job.”

Mr Young added that, when a taxi is needed, both major dispatching companies are often called for the same job and as a result, one cabbie has a wasted journey.

“One way to resolve this is for those restaurants to ask their patrons whether they need to return back to their destination in a taxi and if so have one pre-ordered for a specific time,” Mr Young said.

Mr Young added that there are currently 550 cabs on the road providing “some of the best, most efficient and most trustworthy services in the world”.

Mr Young estimated that each cab ferries an average of 45 people around the Island each day, resulting in almost 125,000 people taking a cab journey each week.

“In spite of the fine work that we do, we find that it’s always easier for persons to attack the taxi industry when it comes to a shortage of transportation,” he said.

“The public should be reminded that there are other forms of transportation service that offer practically the same services that taxis do.”

Mr Young said minibuses were licensed “to fill in when there was a shortage of taxis”.

“But they are now allowed to travel throughout the Island and practically compete head-to-head with a taxi, with no real rules and regulations to guide them,” he said.

“Yet, when there is a shortage or lack of taxis in a specific area, the taxi service and the taxi man get the brunt of the complaints.

“I would like to see the minibus service and the taxi service work together in order to provide a more efficient service. But, that will not happen until the Government is able to come up with rules and regulations for the minibuses, as they have done so with the taxi industry.

“The truth is that the cost of a permit for a taxi is $95,000 while the cost for a minibus is $5,000. There is no fairness here.”

Mr Young admitted that there were “flaws” in the system, but said they needed to be addressed by Government, rather than drivers themselves.

“[It is] Government who need [to] make some firm and hard decisions concerning the industry. Along with sorting out the taxi/minibus saga, they need to come to a decision on whether GPS is to be optional or mandatory,” he said. “It has been floating about for too long and the taxi industry will not improve if this issue is not resolved.”

He also recommended that an independent transportation authority be established “who can sort out all issues and allow the transportation industry [to] run its own affairs”.

“This authority would also bring taxis and minibuses under one roof, allowing them to come together and work more closely with each other,” he said.

“Minibuses are here to stay and we do need them — but there must be rules and regulations to go by.

“Nine out of ten people travelling in a taxi get good, reliable and friendly service. They get picked up and delivered to their destination on time, every time. These are the people the public won’t hear from because they are satisfied with our services. It’s that one person that may have experienced a waiting period or maybe had a bad experience that makes it to the news and casts a bad spell among the whole industry.

“There will always be a complaint in the transportation industry because it will never be perfect, but we are striving for improvement every day.”