Works and Engineering Minister Derrick Burgess has criticised taxi drivers for taking time off over Cup Match.

Mr. Burgess, Acting Minister of Tourism and Transport, said it was "not reasonable" for some operators to decide not to run a service.

He said it was up to everyone to pull together during a recession and to provide a good service for tourists. Passengers on American Airlines' flights from New York City and Miami on Friday complained after they were "left stranded" at the airport due to a lack of taxis.

Said a Government spokesperson: "I do not have a specific number of complaints. However there were expressions of general shortages, long waits, and people being told 'the taxi is on the way' and a significant amount of time had passed since the pre-arranged booking time."

She said this was "more than an hour in some cases".

Added Mr. Burgess: "Notwithstanding the fact that apparently there were some movement restrictions imposed by the Police [due to a fight] at the East End, this situation is absolutely unacceptable in Bermuda, particularly during these challenging economic times."

Tourism Board chairman E. Michael Jones backed the drivers who he said deserved some time off.

And Radio Cabs boss Edward Darrell said a lack of taxis on a Friday evening was a common occurrence,

"There are some that say taxi drivers shouldn't have a holiday at this time, but I think everyone is entitled to a vacation," Mr. Jones said.

"Government needs to continually look at transport and modify the various modes as we go along. There are all kinds of other options that we have now.

"I think it is very unfortunate this has occurred. Hopefully we will be in a better position in the future and manage this better."

Mr. Darrell said that perhaps as many as a sixth of Bermuda's 600 taxis could be off the road on any given Friday night.

"Government has to live with it, it has always been that way," he said. "We have a percentage of Seventh-day Adventists in the taxi industry who do not work Friday nights and Saturdays. They are very religious."

However Mr. Burgess maintained that an efficient taxi service year round is crucial to Bermuda's success as a tourism destination. "The Government is working very hard with our hospitality industry partners to ensure that our visitors receive the best possible service and get value for their vacation dollar.

"Our hotels have clearly demonstrated their firm commitment to Bermuda's success by drastically lowering their rates and we are looking for local businesses to respond in kind.

"I want to remind taxi operators that our hotels are open for business on public holidays and it is not reasonable that they choose to opt out of providing their taxi service because it's Cup Match. This sad state of affairs has happened with disappointing regularity in the past and we are looking at ways to avert this type of situation in the future."

He added: "We are aware that some drivers do choose to go the extra mile and we thank them for their efforts to keep Bermuda's service levels at the highest level."

Were you stranded? What do you think? Or are you a taxi driver? What do you think of the Minister's comments? E-mail news@royalgazette.bm or telephone 295-5881 and ask for the newsdesk.