Taxi drivers would like to see harsher penalties meted out to people who assault them, Lee Tucker, spokesman for the Bermuda Taxi Owners Association (BTOA) said yesterday.

He spoke to The Royal Gazette after he learned that a 59-year-old taxi driver was assaulted during the early hours of yesterday morning.

According to Police reports, between 5.15 a.m. and 5.30 a.m., the Sandys man picked up a male at the entrance of Boundary Crescent in Devonshire. The man asked the driver to take him to Happy Valley, but asked him to stop as they turned onto Hibiscus Lane so that he could change some money.

The driver told Police the man produced a knife and a struggle ensued between the two. As a result, the taxi driver suffered a laceration on his right finger and a small cut on his left cheek.

He said the passenger then threatened him and demanded money. The attacker was given $90 and then fled by foot.

"I think all of the taxi drivers are very concerned about the difficulties they have to face in order to serve the public," said Mr. Tucker. "We had a meeting just last week about our concerns."

Mr. Tucker also said while he understood that Transport Minister Dr. Ewart Brown expected taxi drivers to make themselves available to the public, taxi drivers are being very careful about who they pick up and where they have to travel.

"This is not the first time this has happened," he said.

Mr. Tucker said he believed that if the crimes against taxi drivers were dealt with more severely, the number of incidents would be reduced.

"The judicial system has to make a firm stand when they face these culprits. They need to be dealt with more harshly," he said.