before their annual examinations, according to the Transport Control Department.

And TCD director Donald Dane has said taxis which have not been updated will not be allowed back on the roads for fear that they will malfunction during the first few hours of the Millennium.

A notice placed in yesterday's edition of The Royal Gazette called for vehicles equipped with Metrometer Taximeters to be brought in for installation of updated software.

Metrometers are devices that were introduced to Bermuda in 1995 and allow passengers to pay for a journey with their credit cards.

The notice added that installation will take place at head of Metrometer Bermuda Dennis Eve's residence from Friday, October 1 until Saturday, November 6.

The total cost for purchase and recalibration will be $185.

Mr. Dane said: "While many taxis on the road are already equipped with Y2K compliant software, there are a few, such as the ones that use Metrometers, which will need to be updated.'' He added: "The responsibility has been placed on TCD to do this because if we left it to the companies themselves, they may not all comply.'' Asked what the consequences of such non-compliance would be, Mr. Dane explained: "They would just malfunction. You wouldn't be able to turn them on.'' He added that another reason for the installation of updated software was because the Queen's Birthday holiday has been moved from the second Monday in June to the third one.