Mystery problems are holding up the introduction of a controversial central dispatching system for Bermuda's taxis, The Royal Gazette has learned.

Although many taxi drivers are hostile to the mandatory dispatch system, Transport Minister Dr. Ewart Brown and the operators of the new system said last year they were confident it would be introduced at the beginning of this year.

But yesterday Gladwyn Bean, the president of Bermuda Central Dispatch Corporation, the company which will operate the system, said the dispatch units were still in Canada and would not be brought to the Island and programed until some obstacles, which he refused to name, had been overcome.

And Dr. Brown refused to speculate on when the system, which uses global positioning satellites, will be up and running.

He intends to bring the matter to Cabinet early next month and then put legislation before the House of Assembly making it mandatory for all the Island's taxis to be part of the central dispatch system. Mr. Bean said yesterday: "The units are still at the suppliers and dates have not been firmed. We are awaiting certain things to happen in Bermuda.

"Everything is in a delicate balance. We've had some barriers, but most of it has been misunderstanding. We can get it up and running within six weeks. That period hasn't started and it won't start until certain things are in place in Bermuda. I can't say what they are or how far we are away from that." When pressed on whether the central dispatch would implemented by the summer, he said: "Yes." Dr. Brown said he could not confirm there were delays and that the system would not be implemented until the second quarter of this year.

He said: "I intend to present it to Cabinet very early next month and we'll see what happens.

"It couldn't be legislated until we get it into Parliament and I anticipate that, if I'm successful at Cabinet, I expect to move into high gear."

When asked when he expected the system to be operational, he said: "I'd rather not speculate."

Dr. Brown has pushed for the introduction of the system in response to complaints from visitors and residents about the unreliability of taxis.

Two out of the Island's four dispatch companies, Sandys Taxis and the Bermuda Industrial Union's Taxi Co-Op, joined forces to create the Bermuda Central Dispatch Corporation to run the system.