Drunks sometimes dub it the ?beer chariot? ? the miraculous form of transport which gets you safely to your bed leaving no memory trace of how you got home.

In reality it is the hardy taxi driver who delivers the Island?s confused revellers to their destinations, long after the ferries and buses have packed in for the night.

Cabbies perform a vital service night after night, often to abuse and sometimes with no fare at the end of it. It takes a special kind of person to put up with flak.

But most customers are good natured. BTA president Michael Ray loves the personal interaction of taxi driving ? so very different from his other main love ? bible teaching.

He said: ?You end up being everything from mentor, spiritual advisor even father to some young men and women. People get into your cab and in one short journey they end up telling you their life story.

?If you are friendly and jovial, people let their hair down. And tell you their personal business ? how much money they make. It can be shocking.?

He has had to play marriage counsellor to rowing couples. Sometimes the warring factions smooth it over and end up taking the making up a step too far.

?I have to remind them to wait until they get home,? he said.

Sometimes amorous, or at least cash-strapped women, turn their attentions to the driver.

?I am a Christian so there is no way in the world I would consider it but they figure a lot of men are slack when it comes to sex.?

Cabbie Joe Brown has also had to turn down offers from women offering sexual favours instead of fare money.

He said: ?I wish they would tell me they didn?t have the fare money before they got in the car so I could say no thank you.?

Both Mr. Brown and Mr. Ray have driven Bermuda?s very own Hollywood couple Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones and given the same verdict that they are a down to earth couple.

Boxing legend Mohammad Ali was also a regular in the back of Mr. Brown?s cab and also play sparred with him in front of the cameras, in Mr. Brown?s previous job as broadcaster.

?He took a punch at me. People said I should have let him hit me ? I would never have had to work again. But he might have killed me.?

He said customers enjoy his patter about the Island with journeys from the Airport to the hotel and often end up booking him for more official tours.

Other stars he has driven have included Michael Jordon and New York Knicks star Patrick Ewing while Mr. Ray can boast of ferrying Tyra Banks.

?She looks prettier on the TV,? was Mr. Ray?s observation.

Confrontational punters can be calmed down with the right approach, said Mr. Ray.

Sometimes customers have very basic problems.

?I pick up drunks who have forgotten where they live ? that happens especially with tourists.?

It might seem a lot of hassle but in the main the interaction with all sorts of people make it worth it.

?I love my job ? it?s second only to my bible work.?