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Lee Tucker (1934-2021): Veteran cab driver and runner remembered

Dennis Lee Tucker, a keen runner and popular taxi operator (File photograph)

A cab driver who led the Bermuda Taxi Operators Association was also a keen veteran of the annual Marathon Derby as well as a race organiser.

Lee Tucker, who started running in 1944 and went on to train and manage competitive runners, was a member of Swan’s Running Club.

He often took part in the derby to raise money for charity, along with his brother Archie.

Both became well-known taxi drivers and Mr Tucker served as head of the industry group.

Mr Tucker was an outspoken campaigner for taxi drivers and highlighted gasoline prices, fares and driver safety.

He insisted industry outsiders failed to understand the financial pressures faced by taxi drivers.

Mr Tucker also saw taxi drivers as tourism ambassadors and in the 1990s he served on the Bermuda Taxi Advisory Board and worked with the Government to regulate the industry.

He was a strong opponent of moves to make the Global Positioning System mandatory for taxis as head of the BTOA.

Mr Tucker explained his dislike of GPS to The Royal Gazette in 2013.

He said: “It’s expensive and, at the same time, it hasn’t improved the quality of service.

“At times the GPS goes down. The signal goes down so the whole service goes down. If you are relying on that signal, it means passengers can’t get cars.”

He organised protests against GPS under a Progressive Labour Party administration and led a strike in 2002.

Mr Tucker travelled overseas with Bermuda running teams for events such as the Pan American Games.

He was also a longstanding member the Bermuda Track & Field Association, where he was a vice-president of road running.

Mr Tucker, a relentless trainer, could often be seen running on Horseshoe Bay Beach.

He said, aged 75, as he and his brother prepared for the marathon derby in 2009 that they were both prepared to stay the course.

Mr Tucker said: "Since we both have run many times in the race, we both know the fulfilment we feel after completing the race, with the crowd cheering us on and encouraging us.

“We may not be the fastest – but we do plan to finish."

· Dennis Lee Tucker, a former head of the Bermuda Taxi Operators Association, was born on September 3, 1934. He died in November 2021, aged 87.

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Published December 11, 2021 at 7:54 am (Updated December 11, 2021 at 7:54 am)

Lee Tucker (1934-2021): Veteran cab driver and runner remembered

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