Opposition and Independent senators cited economic hardships faced by drivers as a result of a shrinking market and skyrocketing costs and argued that a thorough study should be conducted before making the proposed changes.

Dispatching companies were guaranteed to succeed, said Senate Opposition Leader Kim Swan.

“Taxi drivers are going to fund this business and the Government can come here today and give us no information,” he said. “This can't be right. The real problem is diminished business opportunities for the taxi driver and any small business that is dependent on tourism.”

The vote means that the Bill will go back to the House for reconsideration but can not be taken up again in its present form for at least another year.

If it passes the House the second time around the law will be automatically approved by the senate.

But Transport Minister Dr. Ewart Brown also has the option of presenting an amended version of the Bill at any time.

Had the Bill been passed yesterday, taxi operators would have had 18 months to equip their cars with computerised dispatching technology with GPS, the satellite based tracking software, and an alarm system.

Dispatch companies would also have had to purchase compatible equipment. In addition taxis were to have had two months to comply with existing law that they be outfitted with two way radios.

“By improving communication, service in the industry will also improve,” said Sen. Victoria Pearman who introduced the Bill. She said the technology had the advantage of speed, eliminated the practice of stealing jobs and was fairer because dispatchers could not discriminate among drivers.

Taxi driver safety will also benefit, she added, with the alarm system. Dispatchers would enter the details of a call for service into the system and the nearest cab would be assigned the job. A mobile data terminal would alert the driver to his next job. In an emergency, drivers can hit a panic button to alert not the dispatch company and other drivers in the area.

Sen. Pearman stressed that Government had engaged in dialogue with the taxi industry over the last two years and had made a number of concessions.

Government had dropped its insistence that all taxis be registered to one dispatch service, allowed the importation of reconditioned vehicles for use as taxis and extended the grace period for enforcing the new law.

As an industry in the public service, she added, there had to be regulations and some supervision. But taxi operators also benefit from relatively favourable tax policies, she said.

She added that while GPS will improve Government's ability to collect data on the industry, “Big Brother” fears are unwarranted. “GPS will only be relied upon in two instances - for dispatching and when the panic button is pressed,” she said.

“It's not about GPS but about improving service and profitability of the owners.”

The UBP urged caution in interfering with the free market and said a thorough study of the industry should be done before making any major policy changes.

“We're moving too fast,” said Sen. Neville Darrell. “We do the industry an injustice if we move forward without more information.”

He painted a dismal picture of life as a taxi driver, saying there were far more taxis chasing less business than in years past, that many drivers were effectively working for $5 an hour and many had to have a second job to make ends meet which in turn impacted the availability of cabs on the roads.

“Bermuda taxi operators are functionally unemployed every single day... They are unemployed until someone steps into their taxi.”

The UBP also dismissed Government claims that there had been meaningful consultation with the industry and that the Island's taxi drivers were effectively being forced to pay for a $2.5 million experiment that will benefit the dispatching companies.

Government Sen. Michael Scott said that the UBP had failed in its role as regulator for the taxi industry when in Government. And he raised eyebrows from some of his senate colleagues by saying that racism helped to cripple the taxi industry.

Sen. Scott also said that the proposals will boost local confidence in the taxi industry

Independent senators, Walwyn Hughes and Jeanette Cannonier, argued that while something needed to be done to improve service in the taxi industry, Government should start by enforcing existing laws.

And they agreed with the UBP that it had not been shown how the new technology would actually improve service.

The former UBP Government had relaxed enforcement of a provision in the law books that all taxis should be equipped with two way radios and registered with a dispatch company.

“Taxi drivers, it does appear, have been allowed to get away with murder,” said Sen. Cannonier.

“Who's to say they are going to comply with any legislation that comes along?”

Government Senate leader Sen David Burch said the legislation was not a “panacea,” but was an attempt to respond to complaints about service in the taxi industry. He said taxi drivers already got breaks on duty, meaning a $20,000 car would cost a taxi driver $22,000, a commercial businessman $26,600, and a private citizen $50,000.

Government hadn't proclaimed that GPS was cheap and affordable, but it had offered drivers interest free loans.

While tourism numbers were down, developments such the new Belmont Hotel and golf course and the investment in both Fairmont Princess hotels showed Bermuda was “on a roll”.

“If there were statistics, and there are not so this is my opinion, (I would say) taxi drivers in this country this month made more than they made last year,” he said. The UBP were “hypocrites” for trying to portray themselves as champions of the underclass.

“If the taxi drivers believe the UBP is going to be the champion of their cause and making them a profit, and is better at government than us, then I have no problem with that. They are free to do so.

“But I would suggest that we are not operating on a wing and a prayer. They should look at our record and their record. When your (the UBP's) 400 year record is stacked up against our four year record, you'll still be sitting there (in opposition).

“If, after 18 months, it is an abysmal failure, this Government will have no problem saying it is a mistake, but at least we tried something.”

Independent Senate President Alf Oughton said the problems of the taxi industry had gone on for years and it was a “disgrace” they had not been sorted years ago.The two way radio technology had been on the books since 1951 and nothing had been done to use the data to improve the service.

He was “amazed” to read about drivers agreeing to mandatory radios, because the law had never been changed to make them optional.

And he had no sympathy for drivers looking for protection from competition. Better service was the answer, but he echoed arguments made by Senators Jeanette Cannonier and Kim Swan that GPS would not solve the problems of drivers refusing to respond to unprofitable jobs in faraway locations.

Transport Minister Dr. Ewart Brown had an “excellent” record on public consultation, Sen. Oughton said, but he was “quick to react” if things didn't go his way.

“What we really need is to take a good look and investigate where the industry is, and what we need to do to make it more successful. It may come about that as a result of what we are trying to do, GPS is the essential item that is needed as we move along,” Sen. Oughton said.

But, from a business perspective, he had not been convinced that GPS would result in greater profitability.

“The state of the taxi industry is a disgrace and it is a disgrace that no one has done anything about it over the years. If we are going to the trouble of implementing the laws, we need to make sure they work,” he said.