It?s the holiday season and celebrations have been in full force, with Christmas parties starting at the beginning of December building right up until New Year?s Eve.

With the increased partying comes, naturally, a sharp increase in alcohol consumption ? and more and more people attempting to avert disaster by catching a cab home rather than venture out onto Bermuda?s roads.

But all too many party-goers have encountered the same obstacle when they have attempted to climb into a taxi in the early hours of the morning: cab drivers refusing to drive them to where they want to go.

This leaves the customer in the alarming position of being in an inebriated state, in the early hours of the morning, with no way to get home. It seems unnecessary to spell out the danger, particularly if the customer is alone.

Many people have told stories about this occurring when they have been travelling to the extreme ends of the Island ? Somerset or St. George?s ? near the end of a night, when a cab driver is reluctant to drive so far when it is so close to the time to go home.

Others have shared stories where a cab driver is unwilling to drive short distances through town also, saying the tiny fare is not worth the time it would take to make the drive.

A Radio Cabs spokesperson explained the cabdriver perspective further. ?The bad condition of a person is also a factor,? she said.

?If they are unruly, or screaming drunk, the cabdrivers don?t want to risk it.?

The problem is, she said, that all the cabdrivers are self-employed ? meaning dispatch has no way of guaranteeing whether a person can get a cab or not.

?We don?t know who?s going out, who isn?t. We put a request out on the air and hope someone answers asap. If nobody answers, what can we do?

?Even when people prearrange a cab through us there is no guarantee,? she added. ?They have to prearrange with the driver beforehand.?

The explanations are not good enough for frustrated customers, however.

?The fact remains that I am relying on being able to catch a cab home, and it is their job to provide that service,? said one. ?I?m even willing to pay the outrageous fees they charge. If they don?t do take me, I am put into danger. People are trying to be responsible, and they end up being raped in a parking lot because they?ve been abandoned by a cabdriver.?

Though people have related incidents when they have been turned down by cabdrivers throughout the year, the holiday season is particularly bad, the Radio Cabs spokesperson admitted. ?Everybody wants to celebrate.?

This includes the taxi drivers themselves, meaning there may be a shortage of cabs on any given night ? i.e. New Year?s Eve ? because the cab drivers want to join in the celebrations also. ?Anyone who can not work, won?t. We?re caught between a rock and a hard place.?

But, she said, for most drivers out there, driving is what they do. ?Particularly on New Year?s ? we?ll just keep driving till the morning.

?There?s not enough taxis to serve everybody, particularly if it?s just one person going a long way. And on New Year?s people are moving around everywhere.?

So what are the solutions? In general, just call a cab ?and we?ll do our best,? said the spokeswoman.

On New Year?s Eve in particular, it would be helpful to have some buses running, she said. ?Perhaps one at 12.30, one at 3, just from Front Street all the way East or West.

?We will be trying at Radio Cab,? she promised. ?Just have a little bit of patience and we will try to get you home safely.?