Representatives of the taxi industry are confident that the Senate will today reject Government's GPS proposals.

Bermuda Taxi Operators Association president Lee Tucker said yesterday that he was hopeful that today's debate in the Upper Chamber will end with a “favourable result”.

And the BTOA is calling a special meeting for Thursday evening to consider any action in response to the Senate's decision.

Mr. Tucker has led opposition to Government's plans to force the industry to install digital dispatching and GPS technology since they were first mooted three years ago.

The bill was blocked and sent back to the House of Assembly after a tied Senate vote in 2002. This time around, Government again faces an uncertain reception to the proposals.

“We'll be making our presence felt,” Mr. Tucker said yesterday. “We're looking forward to a favourable result and hoping for the benefit of all of Bermuda. We're hoping the Senate will recommend mediation or a third party to be brought on board so we can have a possible solution.”

And he repeated the taxi operators' position that the technology should not be made mandatory.

Government Senator Reginald Burrows, who had promised to abstain but did not vote on the measure in 2002 when he was a Member of Parliament, was “non-committal”, Mr. Tucker reported.

But he is hoping that the Independent Senators will vote with the Opposition against the bill.

“This (GPS) is not going to solve the problems. It's only a band-aid application to a major fracture,” he said.

A Government committee's recommendations to increase fares and allow shared rides had not been taken up, he added.

“We've been promised - and I have it in writing - that the Government will impose an increase in fares as of July 1. They've done nothing. So the service has not improved because of the failure of Government to carry out their promises,” he continued.

“It could have been imposed within a week... This is why we are saying the independent Senators will see it differently from the Government.”