Taxi drivers have blamed hotels for the problems guests have been experiencing getting cabs.

They hit back after Bermuda Hotel Association chief executive John Harvey said on Wednesday it has been so difficult getting taxis in the past few weeks that some hotels have been forced to drive guests around.

Bermuda Taxi Owners Association (BTOA) spokesman Lee Tucker said the problems could be overcome if hotels would book taxis well in advance when they knew they had a lot of people leaving at one time.

"I would strongly disagree with him, saying that people were stranded. I haven't heard of anyone being stranded and missing their plane because in that case we would have a crisis," said Mr. Tucker.

"Too often people make an accusation that they can't get a taxi when they walk out the door and there isn't a taxi waiting every hour of the day and night. That doesn't happen.

"If the hotels know they have a situation, they should deal with it differently. They should know how many people are going to be leaving at a certain time and call well in advance.

"Many times a car has been waiting and no one is there. That happens all over the world.

"I don't say people haven't been having difficulty, but it's nothing new, and we can work around it if we get co-operation from the hoteliers."

Mr. Tucker said a delegation from the BTOA met Finance Minister Eugene Cox yesterday to plead for a rebate on fuel to help them deal with soaring costs.

"We met the Finance Minister and expressed our concern about the high cost of maintenance. He said he is going to look into it because they are giving assistance to small businesses and we hope he will take us into consideration."

Mr. Tucker added: "Very few owners have made a profit in this past year because of the additional expenses (caused by higher fuel).

"The hoteliers can cut back on staff and services because of a loss of income, but we are expected to go on providing the same level of service.

"I can't believe the hotels are complaining. I could tell you some stories about the complaints we get from customers about the service they get in hotels."