Further protests by angry taxi drivers are likely with the tabling of a bill legislating the use of Global Positioning Systems - seen by Government as a way to improve taxi service on the Island.

Lee Tucker, the official spokesperson for the Bermuda Taxi Operators Association, described the bill as a "bombshell" given ongoing talks with Government.

And shadow Transport Minister Erwin Adderley claimed that taxi operators had been "deceived" with the surprise bill.

Mr. Tucker warned that taxi operators, faced with rising costs and dwindling income, will make their displeasure known.

"I am not at liberty to say what action we may take. But I can assure you there will be some very difficult periods between now and the time the legislation is passed," he said.

According to Mr. Tucker the TOA represents about 400 of the 500 taxi owners on the Island.

And, he said, the majority of the 3,000 licensed taxi drivers support the TOA.

In addition to a two way radio set, which is currently required, taxis will have to be equipped with a mobile data terminal, a global positioning device and an alarm device. Non-compliance would be an offence under the proposed law.

But no action will be taken against operators who do not comply until a year after the law comes into effect.

Transport Minister Ewart Brown - who is abroad and was not available for comment - has championed the scheme, much to the dismay of some taxi drivers.

But he has argued that the general public deserved a better taxi service. GPS would assign jobs to the nearest cab.

In March, hundreds of taxi drivers took part in a go slow to protest the Minister's plans.

Mr. Tucker says that Government's plans are "experimental" because no study or survey has been done to establish the viability of the system in Bermuda.

And he argued that in some other places where it is used, GPS had not brought the expected benefits.

The increased costs of installing and maintaining the system would be passed onto the general public, without necessarily any improvement in service.

Furthermore the system could pose a traffic hazard, because those who use it would have to read a data screen for instructions on their next job.

And in one New England area, the devices had been banned on the grounds of safety.

"If the Minister and the transport safety people are concerned about safety with cell phone use, which is far less hazardous than reading a television screen, what are you saying?" he asked.

"I know of one elderly driver who said he will not be reading a screen and he won't even turn it on."

He said that that the Association had met with Government about six weeks ago to discuss their concerns and made some alternative suggestions to improve service.

Another meeting was expected to be held, he said.

Some of the options included requiring drivers to install two way radios, a policy which had been relaxed in recent years, he said.

Another was to encourage the hotels to give advance notice of large movements of people so that drivers could plan their work better.

The Association is also urging rebates on fuel costs - to encourage drivers to move around, as opposed to staying in one place to reduce fuel costs - as well as a review of meter rates. He added that the problem of service was really confined to the extreme ends of the Island, especially at late hours of the night, and that could not be fixed by GPS.

Further, Mr. Tucker said, many drivers would rebel against GPS as it would be impossible to force people to turn the system on.

He described the situation as a "stalemate" saying a resolution would be "very difficult" if plans proceed.

"Drivers are not going to install it," he said. "They would prefer to face the music in court."

He said the system would impose economic hardships on the drivers which would eventually filter down to the public.

"There is no way the taxi drivers can absorb the losses. We are making less money and required to pay more," he said.

"It's not feasible and drivers are not going to take it laying down."

Shadow Transport Minister Erwin Adderley claimed that Government had failed to listen to the taxi industry, and had even deceived it.

"There was a huge amount of concern about the proposal to introduce GPS and the cab drivers even went to the Premier because they were concerned about having this foisted onto them," he said.

"My understanding was that it was going to be put on hold for a year, but now they have put down a piece of legislation, which means they intend to introduce this thing during this Session.

"This flies in the face of the commitment that was given to the industry by the Premier. Government is saying the GPS will not be enforced for a year, but the bottom line is that despite their concerns about how much it was going to cost them, the GPS is going to become law.

"Once it's passed, taxi drivers will have to live by it."

And Mr. Adderley claimed by introducing the GPS system, to some extent, Government was legislating a monopoly, and said he believed it was a Human Rights issue.

He said many taxi drivers had supported the PLP at the last election, but he suspected they would not do the same next time around.

He added: "I think it's clear that the taxi industry doesn't have any friends on that side of the House. They are not being listened to - they are being deceived."