roll back a late night fare surcharge from 10 p.m. to midnight in the teeth of Opposition protests.

The Motor Taxi Amendment Regulations were approved by a vote of 21-17 before a visitor's gallery packed with taxi drivers opposed to the move.

Opening the debate, Transport Minister Wayne Furbert had said the downturn in visitor arrivals, the introduction of six seater taxis and the increase in the number of cabs on the road all had a profound affect on the industry.

And the question facing the community today was how best to phase in an increase that would enable cabbies to pursue their livelihoods while encouraging visitors or locals to use the service.

Mr. Furbert said he welcomed the taxi drivers who were seated in the public gallery and he said it was not Government's intent to harm their businesses.

He said it is possible that close to 10,000 people could potentially be affected by the legislation given that there were 600 taxis and 3,000 drivers in Bermuda who all have families.

"We have a responsibility to present the facts and not score political points,'' he warned Parliament. "I am not going to play with the economic survival of the taxi driver as some would.'' Mr. Furbert said times had changed since the 1950s where free spending tourists were expected to use taxis everywhere they went.

Today, he said, there was more variety in the modes of transport available to a guest or local.

Visitors typically came for shorter periods of three to four days several times a year.

And they were also more price conscious and make liberal use of vacation packages.

Added to this, he said, is the increase in group business, the rise of the group tour operator and the second-hand car market.

Each of these changes had had a pronounced affect on the taxi industry.

Mr. Furbert touched on the recommendations of the 1980 Sharpe Report, the Drinkwater report of 1993 and the most recent report that was tabled a few weeks ago.

In each case Government had realised much of the recommendations.

Mr. Furbert said he received many calls from the community to take the concerns of the taxi drivers into account and this was a large factor in his decision to form the taxi commission so that they could canvass the widest cross section of the industry as possible.

Unfortunately, he said, there was only a 15 percent return on the questionnaires.

And the commission then made a series of recommendations on the basis of their interviews and research.

Mr. Furbert said that part of the difficulty in achieving consensus was the vast disparity in the circumstances of owner-drivers.

In its report, the commission recommended an increase of 20 percent in taxi fares and a removal of the surcharge from 10 p.m. until 12 midnight.

The justification for the rolling back of the 10 p.m. surcharge was its affect on the visitor who took a cab to dinner at 8 p.m. and paid one fare but found that he/she paid an increased fare after 10 p.m.

This has been a source of concern because in the Caribbean a surcharge is only levied after midnight.

Shared rides and the use of the taxi as a minibus on a controlled basis were among the issues that he has asked the Taxi Advisory Council to look into.

Shadow Transport Minister Dennis Lister lambasted Mr. Furbert for straying from the regulations as set out in the legislation.

He said the proper method would have been for the Minister to have brought the taxi report to Parliament for debate and all the surrounding issues could have been highlighted at that time.

"The issue is not whether or not taxi drivers need an increase,'' he said.

"They do need it. Or whether the 10 p.m. surcharge should remain because they want that as well.

"The more important issue is that we are discussing these issues under the threat of a strike due to the mishandling by Government. That is the real issue.'' Mr. Lister pointed out the Minister withdrew his initial proposal last June because a strike threat was looming at that time.

"We have those same concerns today. Here we have a strike threat and the Minister still wishes to steamroll ahead.'' As a consequence of the Minister's broken promise to sit down with taxi operators to talk about these issues, Mr. Lister continued, "the country was faced with a strike''.

He said the formation of another commission was just a play to make it look like Government was doing something when the opposite was occurring.

And the current report was nothing more than evidence of Government's "piecemeal approach'' to the taxi industry.

Mr. Lister said the PLP would offer the Minister a credible way out by introducing an amendment that would leave the current surcharge intact because it is the biggest point of contention.

He added the Act was faulty, in error, and called upon the Minister of Transport to kill the legislation.

"Even at this eleventh hour he should take some time and think about what he's putting these taxi drivers through... It's a question of dollars and cents for the taxi driver,'' he added.

Following a ruling by the Speaker that the bill could not be amended, Mr.

Lister appealed to Premier David Saul to intervene and exercise his option to withdraw the bill.

Information Minister John Barritt accused the PLP of missing the big picture, something, he said, the Minister of Transport was required to do.

He also slammed the opposition for claiming taxi drivers were speaking with one voice: "There's 3000 people in this industry and about 600 drivers and there's not one collective voice,'' said Mr. Barritt.

And he also chided the Opposition for suggesting Government knuckle under in the face of a strike threat.

Mr. Barritt called the bill a good starting point and said Government and the Minister were committed to seeing it through, although they were also not against revisiting the issue in the future.

He also raised concerns that resorting exclusively to a fare increase could damage the taxi industry, pricing it out of the market. Hard on the heels of increasing costs will come increasing calls for cheaper alternatives such as Government-run buses, warned Mr. Barritt.

"You hear the rumblings already.'' In the face of decreasing demand for taxis there are still people prepared to hustle and pay $85,000 for a four-seat taxi permit, and $115,000 for six-seaters, he pointed out.

The report highlighted two sides to the taxi issue and both sides had equal merit.

He concluded by saying he accepted the need for a fare increase and pushing back the late-night surcharge, but added more work needs to be done.

Trevor Woolridge (PLP) roared back from the Opposition bench, saying Government had no understanding of how the taxi industry works.

Speaking from his experience as former taxi driver, Mr. Woolridge played to the gallery thick with drivers, and ripped into the Government bench.

"First of all what they should do is go beyond the safety of their offices and find out what this industry is all about,'' he said. "What they'll find out is that one of the biggest impediments to the industry is the Bermuda Government itself.'' While the Department of Tourism was making a big deal about how personable Bermuda's taxi drivers were, at the same time Goverment was pulling the rug out from under their feet with competitive schemes such as tour buses and mini-bus schemes.

He also challenged Government to treat lawyers or doctors the same way they treated taxi drivers: "If they tried to regulate lawyers like that they'd be packing the gallery from the local cemeteries.'' Successive UBP ministers had always dealt with the taxi industry in a piecemeal fashion and the industry now found itself in crisis.

Meanwhile Government wondered why only 15 percent of taxi drivers responded to their questionnaire: "It sends a clear message the industry does not trust them nor is the Minister not trusted to keep his word.'' It was time Government started treating the taxi industry fairly and stopped acting as its chief competitor.

There is no question all industries, not just taxis, are facing difficult times, said Maxwell Burgess (UBP).

Hotels, construction, and the retail sector had all seen a downturn in their profit margins as well, although they had not responded by increasing their prices.

While coming down in favour of the fare hike, Mr. Burgess, a former Transport Minister, also called for the creation of a full-time taxi commission that would maintain an arms-length relationship from Government.

The commission would be responsible for educating visitors as to why costs appeared high, and would also set fares more frequently, thereby avoiding large infrequent increases.

While agreeing that taxi drivers themselves were not unanimous in their approach to the industry, the division should not be exploited.

Instead all should pull together to work towards a common goal, he said, while the new taxi commission would be given some powers currently exercised in the House.

On the issue of the 10 p.m. surcharge, Mr. Burgess repeated Government's line that asking a visitor to pay one fare before going out for dinner and another on the way back would prove irritating.

An he made the case that moving the surcharge back to midnight may actually increase taxi business by making rides more affordable.

Shadow Tourism Minister David Allen responded that the country and the taxi industry deserved better than the current Transport Minister, who had brought nothing but a litany of problems to his portfolio.

Mr. Allen compared the Minister's handling of the taxi issue with the Airport concession issue, and as a result there was a quiet rage spreading through the industry.

Meanwhile, taxis continued to struggle under increased competition: competition encouraged by Government policies.

And throughout, taxi drivers were being told they had to tighten their belts while at the same time their costs continue to rise.

Perhaps one way to help the industry argued Mr. Allen, would be to offer a rebate on the cost of gas and spare parts.

At the same time, Mr. Allen predicted the fare increases will not be well received by the overseas tourist press.

He called on Cabinet members to help soften the blow by tightening their belts as well; the Minister of Finance could fly economy rather than first class on his next trip to London for example.

Visitors should also be made to understand how sharing a taxi can work out to be a cheaper alternative.

No-one was more vital and frontline in the tourism industry than taxi drivers and Government doesn't seem to realise it, he added.

Finance Minister Grant Gibbons rejected PLP calls to study rebates, and slammed the Opposition for ignoring basic market forces.

The issue, he said, went beyond just a question of a fare increase. How that increase will play out through the rest of the economy was also a factor.

When the last fare increase of 25 percent was granted in 1989, the consumer price index rose 21 percent between 1989 and 1994.

There was also the question of supply and demand, he said. While seat capacity had increased 31 percent since 1989, demand had dropped 19 percent, along with the number of dispatches and visitors.

At the same time the number of private cars has increased 11 percent, buses were up 13 percent, and ferry usage increased by 13 percent.

The figures indicated customers are looking for cheaper alternatives.

Dr. Gibbons also defended the Minister of Transport, saying he had to walk a fine line between the concerns of the taxi driver and the realities of market forces.

He also rejected calls for a fuel rebate, saying taxes had to be as neutral as possible so as not to distort one sector of the economy over another.

And the Finance Minister argued Bermudian taxpayers did not want to subsidise the taxi industry.

He also argued giving one sector the rebate would lead to others wanting it as well, eroding the tax base for only short-term gain.

Government should instead be looking for alternative ways to make taxis more competitive while encouraging some people to drop out of the industry altogether.

Leon (Jimmy) Williams (PLP) said the taxi debate underscored why Bermudians were not feeling good about themselves, and that's something Government should be worried about.

Mr. Williams said he sympathised with the taxi drivers, adding: "I hope Government will make the right decision.'' See Monday's newspaper for the conclusion of the debate.