Hundreds of cabbies turned out in force last night to voice their frustration at new GPS regulations.

More than 300 taxi drivers and operators attended a meeting at Warwick Workmen's Club to discuss action over TCD's refusal to licence cabs without working GPS.

Since December 1, it is estimated up to 200 cabs have been failed by the Transport Control Department because their Global Positioning Systems have not been connected under test.

The deadline for all vehicles to be licensed is January 31, otherwise they will be put off the road.

Some cabbies however, say they should not be penalised because their dispatching company has not had the satellite navigation system turned on.

The taxi companies however, say some drivers refuse to turn on the new technology, forcing them to resort to traditional voice dispatch.

Since December it is estimated more than 200 cabs have been given fail slips by TCD, 70 of which are operating under Radio Cabs.

Lawyers from Trott & Duncan are thought to be examining whether it is legal for TCD to fail cabs from December 1 when other taxis were passed in previous months. Radio Cabs intends to pursue the matter against Government in court.

Lee Tucker, a taxi operator, said last night: "There were in excess of 300 people in attendance tonight. The meeting was called by concerned operators, however Radio Cabs were in attendance and stated their position.

"At this stage we can't say what action will be taken. The meeting resolved itself that they will leave it to the lawyers to take what steps they see fit."

A law making GPS mandatory in taxis came into effect in Feburary 2006 but many cabbies refused to use the system, relying instead on radio dispatch to get jobs. The Motor Car Amendment Act 2008 was then introduced last summer to force them to switch their global positioning devices on.