Transport Minister Ewart Brown tabled legislation in the House of Assembly on Friday which he hoped would take taxis in Bermuda “to the next level”.

As revealed by The Royal Gazette on Friday, the legislation calls for an increase in taxi sizes from 200 inches to 210 inches in length, and from 75 inches to 77 inches in width.

Although this would allow initiatives such as wheelchair accessibility, Dr. Brown stressed both that taxi drivers are not obligated to increase their vehicles and that the responsibility for transporting the physically challenged should not fall on the taxi industry.

“The Ministry is moving away from placing that burden on the taxi industry,” he said. “We think that was ill-placed in the first place ... We want to remove that as a reason for a larger vehicle.”

Instead, his reasoning for a larger taxi cab was to allow for easier cargo storage, specifically golf bags.

Dr. Brown said at a later press conference on Friday afternoon that the reason for the rush in implementing this legislation was the requirement for more space as well as for a luxury-type vehicle that was much less expensive.

Courtesy Taxi Service owner Judy Hunt described one German car model in particular: a Mercedes which was lower to the ground, with plenty of storage room and durable leather interiors. Mechanics loved the car, she added, and should cab drivers wish to, it is easily converted to accommodate the handicapped.

A new fleet of such cars (which were replacements for and not in addition to old cars) was hoped for within a year, said Dr. Brown.

Dr. Brown also confirmed at the press conference that Government is offering to buy taxis and licences from drivers over 65. Although the process has not yet been formalised, he said more than 104 taxi cabs were owned by drivers over 70 years old who might want to cash in and retire.

Other amendments to the Motor Car Act which Dr. Brown tabled in the House of Assembly on Friday included a change in vehicle licensing fees.

Previously, he said, such fees were charged on a month to month basis. After the legislation is passed, however, the fees would be done on a day to day basis. “This enables a person who, for example, buys a car in the middle of the month to only pay their fee from the purchase date until the vehicle expires,” he explained. The same licensing fee amendments were introduced for auxiliary cycles.