Taxi operators are still deciding what to do if the controversial GPS Bill receives the Senate stamp of approval next Wednesday.

And while they will spend this week lobbying and spreading information on their side of the story, they said some sort of action will be taken depending on Wednesday?s result.

Yesterday the Bermuda Taxi Owners? Association (BTOA) repeated its call for third-party mediation as the Bill moves closer and closer to law.

If the Senate passes the bill, it will only take the signature of Governor John Vereker to make it law. Once that is done, taxi drivers will have six months from January, 2005 to install digital dispatching systems in their cabs.

At a Press conference yesterday BTOA spokesperson Lee Tucker called on the public to stop blaming taxi drivers for everything ? including, among other things, the 1996 death of Rebecca Middleton.

The 17-year-old Canadian was waiting for a taxi which allegedly never showed when she accepted a ride on the back of a bike. She was murdered several hours later.

?Taxi operators should not be held responsible for Rebecca Middleton?s death,? Mr. Tucker told the Press conference.

And operator Dennis Hollis said he knew the driver who attended Ms Middleton?s call. The driver did show up, he said, and drove around looking for Ms Middleton and her friend, however the girls had already gone.

When asked how long it took for the driver to reach the pick-up spot, however, he could not answer.

Mr. Tucker also noted at the Press conference that the promised fare increase for drivers did not come through on July 1, adding that was just another reason not to trust Government.

?This is one of the lowest-paying jobs in Bermuda,? he said.

BTOA legal counsel Richard Hector was still working towards third-party mediation, Mr. Tucker said.