Calls went out last night for taxi licensing laws to be tightened after reports that a sex pest cabbie has been harassing lone female passengers in his vehicle.

Lee Tucker, spokesman for the Bermuda Taxi Owners Association said that while he was surprised and saddened about the reports, he was very much aware that some taxi drivers should not be licensed.

He said: "We do not licence the drivers. We are very cognisant of the fact that there are several bad drivers out there. They may be in the minority, but they are still there.

"We think that the Transport Control Department (TCD) should be more aware of what's going on. They should screen drivers better.

"If you apply for a licence, you seem to get it, provided you pass your driving test. That is not enough.

"In the past, you could not have any blemishes on your character, but that has changed."

TCD is investigating one complaint that a taxi driver, who has been identified, made advances towards a woman, and spoke provocatively to her, after she hired his cab in the early hours from the City of Hamilton.

Director of TCD Kevin Monkman said in this case the woman managed to get the licence number and reported the incident, which took place last month, to his department.

The Public Service Vehicle Licensing Board is now looking into the matter.

However, The Royal Gazette has received three other reports of a cab driver making suggestions to his lone passengers, and, in two cases, being foul mouthed. They are not believed to have been reported because the women failed to get licence numbers.

It is not known whether all of the incidents are linked to the same driver, or not.

Mr. Monkman said: "We have had one complaint that we are looking into.

"We would encourage women, that if something like this does happen, to make a complaint in writing as soon as possible to the Public Service Vehicle Licensing Board. We want them to take down their plate numbers, and if they can get a name, even better.

"It's worrying. Let us know about anything like this. We can take it to the board and have them pursue it."

The Royal Gazette was unable to reach Mr. Monkman last night to question him on whether or not the licensing laws needed to be tightened.

In one of the cases unofficially reported to the Press, a taxi driver asked his lone female passenger if he could go into her home with her after they reached her Southampton address in the early hours.

Shocked and scared, the terrified woman fled inside her home without first taking note of his licence plate.

That woman, who did not wish to identified, said women should be careful.

However, earlier in that journey, the driver had caused problems because he told the woman and her three friends that he did not wish to make two drop offs in Southampton.

Instead, when he made his first stop, he said all of the passengers had to get out, regardless of where they lived.

He said he did not care that one of the females needed to go two miles further down the road because he wanted to finish his shift and go home to Warwick, and said he feared he may run out of gas.

After prolonged complaints from the passengers, the taxi driver finally did agree to take the woman home, but then made advances towards her while she was alone in his cab.

The woman said: "After he kicked up such a stink over taking me home, I didn't really speak to the driver once my friends got out.

"I could not believe his attitude. We had caused no problems for him.

"But we reached my apartment, and from nowhere, he came on to me. I had shown him no interest whatsoever. I couldn't believe it when he had the audacity to ask if he could leave his taxi outside and come in with me.

"It was after one in the morning, it was very dark and there was no one around. I was petrified that he would follow me. I just left the fare, jumped out and ran inside. I couldn't run fast enough."

The 32-year-old woman said once she got inside and locked the door, she wished she had taken his plate number.

She added: "Women should be aware and if they are travelling on their own in a cab for even the shortest distance they make sure they memorise the number plate. I would hate it to happen to someone else."

And another woman told The Royal Gazette that a cab driver had spoken obscenities to her while she had been alone in his cab, but said an acquaintance of hers had had a similar experience, but with even worse language.

She said: "Women should be warned to be careful. It was frightening. Men like this should be stopped before it happens to anyone else."

Mr. Tucker last night urged men and women to memorise the number plate of cabs they take and said they should try to get a good description of the driver and his vehicle.

He said: "This kind of thing spoils our reputation, so we want it brought to an end as quickly as anybody else. It's not fair to label all drivers.

"I think the Ministry should call some kind of inquiry to look at problems like this in the taxi industry. Things happen against passengers, but equally, things happen against drivers from members of the community.

"And the problem will not be solved by simply introducing new systems (such as Global Positioning Systems). We need to look at the whole picture and tighten up everywhere."