A group of cabbies have launched an ambitious scheme to offer drivers shares in a dispatching company aiming to run its own garages as well as bid for bus, limo and even air business.

The move by BTA (Dispatching) Ltd. could spark a major realignment in the taxi industry as drivers seek the cheapest way to buy the global positioning systems (GPS) which must be in all cabs by February.

The BTA group includes Bermuda Taxi Association president Michael Ray and former Transport Control Department head Donald Dane.

Mr. Ray told : ?We are aiming to get more than half the industry in at this point.?

He refused to say how many drivers were currently in the BTA camp although he said the new technology would likely see Bermuda?s 600 drivers weigh the pros and cons of swapping firms as they sought the best deal for themselves. He said: ?We are offering total ownership so it makes more sense for people to join us.?

He said drivers who went with BTA would buy shares and get dividends on profits, although he said it was too early to say what price shares would go for. The company?s incorporation application seeks to cash in on the tourist and corporate market by offering tours, pleasure trips and even fishing trips while BTA, which is separate from the Bermuda Taxi Association despite sharing the same initials, hopes to get a licence to carry passengers, mail and freight by land, water and air.

Mr. Ray said it could allow BTA (Dispatching) Ltd. to step in by chartering a flight if there was a problem with the mail.

He stressed everything was subject to approval although he hopes the company could be running by December at the earliest.

He said the real money was to be made in the convention and cruise business and by having such a wide scope of business BTA (Dispatching) Ltd. could prosper by offering a complete service. He said: ?Government is talking about opening up limo services. We don?t have stretch limos but we certainly have some plush new vans. It?s a market we want to tap into.?

Minibuses might also be used to exploit charter business and shuttle ferry visitors around said Mr. Ray.

The wide ranging bid also envisages BTA running its own garages offering gas and repairs to both motor vehicles and boats which would enable drivers with shares to get cut-price services as well as reap profits from business from the non-taxi driving public.

Business rival Edward Darrell said he wished Mr. Ray?s group well although he said drivers might want to stick with his Radio Cabs firm which is offering the GPS systems at around $850 ? about half the fee often quoted when drivers battled Government for years over the controversial scheme.

Mr. Darrell said Radio Cabs, which now boasts around 490 drivers, had joined up with Sandys Taxi Cabs to offer their version of GPS which will cost drivers $145 a month after installation.

He said stiff competition had seen the cost of GPS plummet. Co-op Taxis is also offering a version of GPS. George Scott, who is CEO of Advanced Tech Solutions, which is providing the technology for Co-op said units might run as high as $3,000 for cabs but they would be cheaper to run than systems run on cellular communications.

He also said cabbies would be able to sell adverts shown on computer screens which would be viewed by passengers.

He said: ?We have done our homework, our system is futuristic.? Cab firms are also lobbying Government to waive import duty on GPS machines.

This week Transport Control Department director Randy Brangman said it was now too late for any more industry players to attempt to meet the deadline. He said: ?Mike Ray might be pushing it a bit but he is working really hard to meet the deadline.?

The principals of BTA (Dispatching) Ltd. are hosting a general meeting for drivers at the Ex-Artillerymen?s Association Club in Victoria Street on Monday at 7 p.m. to explain how the company would work.