Residents and visitors will now have the option of sharing a taxi from the Airport, Transport Minister Dr. Ewart Brown announced yesterday.

Travellers would be able to pay a set rate when they go to certain zones, said Dr. Brown.

The Island would be divided into six zones with designated fares, he said.

Last Monday, Dr. Brown met with Bermuda Taxi Owners Association to announce the shared riding plan and he said that it had full support of the Public Service Vehicle Board, the Bermuda Taxi Owners Association and the Bermuda Central Dispatch Corporation.

The Ministry, along with the Transport Control Department (TCD), helped devise the plan, which Dr. Brown said would “benefit taxi operators and the travelling public alike”.

“If two parties of two persons may agree to share a taxi to the Hamilton Princess, or zone three, each party would pay $15 for a total of $30 earned by the taxi driver,” Dr. Brown explained.

Dr. Brown said there were too many times where at the Airport people were left waiting when they could have shared the taxi with someone travelling to the same zone. He said similar systems had been set up in other jurisdictions and he felt this would be the benefit of both taxi drivers and the general public.

If the plan is successful, Dr. Brown said it could be expanded to other areas of the Island.

Meanwhile, a meeting held at Warwick Workmen's Club last night drew about 50 taxi drivers but quickly descended into a shouting match. The meeting was called by the Bermuda Taxi Owners Association (BTOA) to discuss rate increases, problems encountered with the Island's minibus system and controversial scheme to put Global Positioning Systems (GPS) in the Island's taxi fleet, which drivers resolved to continue fighting against.

The majority of taxi driver's last night said GPS would neither bring them more business nor more money.

Driver Rudolph Bean told the restless crowd, which included a panel of taxi driver representatives, that the Transport Minister had said he needed to implement GPS for the numbers.

“Dr. Brown told us, and I have a number of people beside me who can back me up, that he said from a business point of view he needed to implement GPS for the numbers. But the bottom line of the whole situation is that if the Government wants GPS they'll have to pay for it,” Mr. Bean said.

“Vote your conscience, vote your livelihood,” he added, referring to the upcoming July 24 election.

Shared taxi driving was also a contentious issue and tempers flared early on because some in attendance felt their issues were not being heard fairly. But BTOA spokesman, Lee Tucker, said the panel represented the voice of the taxi driver's to work alongside the Government.