A taxi driver has spoken of his concern at being summoned before a disciplinary hearing this morning for not having a Global Positioning System installed in his vehicle.

Terry Flood claims it is not his fault that he has not got one of the tracking systems, which became compulsory on August 6, because the dispatch company that he works for has not been able to import one in time.

Mr. Flood, who has been working part-time as a cab driver for 32 years, received a letter dated August 11 from the Transport Control Department telling him he is operating his taxi illegally through not having GPS. It orders him to appear before the Public Service Vehicle Licensing Board, which has the power to discipline cabbies.

Mr. Flood ? who says he has heard of 50 other drivers who have also had the letter ? claims that he has attempted to purchase the necessary equipment through the dispatching company Radio Cabs. However, he says that despite putting his order in ?months ago?, the company has not been able to import the system in time.

?I think the letter is offensive really. I?ve already applied to get it and I?m still servicing the public. I?ll put it in when it?s available,? said the driver. ?If they say I can?t drive the cab I would have to seek legal advice ? if I couldn?t drive I couldn?t pay my bills.?

Mr. Flood, of Devonshire, said that because he has licensed his cab for a year until January, 2007 he does not feel he should be made to install the service until it is time for him to renew this.

?The season is almost finished and here they are harassing drivers,? he said.

He also claimed that some of the drivers who do have GPS installed are not able to use it because for technical reasons, it is not yet up and running.

?Most of the other drivers feel that GPS is a dead horse and it?s not working,? he commented.

His views were echoed by Lee Tucker, a taxi driver for the last 45 years and a former spokesman for the Bermuda Taxi Operators Association. He said that in his view the authorities should be pursuing the dispatch companies rather than individual drivers for failing to install GPS.

He added that some dispatch companies ? including Radio Cabs ? do not have the necessary ?base stations? for the GPS system in service yet, and that drivers at companies who do are still choosing not to use the new technology.

?I?d like to take it and throw it overboard. It?s an expensive situation and it?s not going to improve,? said Mr. Tucker, from Southampton, who admits he is choosing not to turn on his own GPS. ?For the taxi industry to improve, the Government needs to sit down with the operators and see how they can assist us.?

As has previously reported, cabbies who failed to install GPS by the deadline date have been told by Transport Control Department (TCD) to stop picking up passengers. TCD Director Randy Brangman has said that his staff have patrolled the airport and cruise ship ports with a list of 120 taxis without the new equipment. Those caught without GPS were to receive warning letters and to go before a special meeting of the Public Service Vehicle Licensing Board last Thursday. However, the outcome of this meeting has not been made public and has been unable to reach Mr. Brangman for comment.

In yesterday?s edition, the president of the Island?s largest taxi dispatch firm admitted that more than half his company?s drivers are still not using GPS. Michael Ray, president and a shareholder in BTA (Dispatching), revealed that although 400 cabbies have opted to have the GPS equipment installed by his company, as many as 250 don?t ever turn it on.

Shadow Transport Minister Jamahl Simmons said last night: ?From the start I have felt it was important that the drivers do obey the law but they seem to be targeting the drivers when really it?s the dispatching companies that seem to be at fault.

?I hope that the board will be lenient with drivers who decided to throw in their lot with companies that do not have GPS. The fact that the majority are not using the device speaks to the poor way in which the Government has brought forward the initiative from the beginning with no attempt to gain the trust from the drivers.?

No one from Radio Cabs could be reached for comment last night. Transport Minister Dr. Ewart Brown was said to be off the Island.