Taxi drivers are boycotting Front Street late at night after adding it to their list of no-go areas following growing incidents of violence.

And some drivers are arming themselves to fend off muggers.

Lee Tucker spokesman for the Bermuda Taxi Owners Association (BTOA), said: ?I know some drivers are not working Front Street, folks are threatening taxi drivers or insisting they drive to places they don?t want to go or people have been pulled out of taxis.?

He said in one incident visitors had been hauled out of a cab by locals who demanded it for themselves.

?You don?t want to work in that environment, you are not going to drive to Front Street at three o?clock in the morning.?

He said the lack of cabs in a major tourist spot was bad news for visitors and he called on Police to increase their presence and for courts to hand out long sentences to attackers.

One taxi driver told he carried a machete and had brandished it to face down a customer who had pulled a knife on him during a row.

Asked if drivers were arming themselves Mr. Tucker said: ?It?s against the law. I know some guys do take a way of protecting themselves.?

Areas known to be boycotted by taxi drivers include 42nd Street, Court Street, Middle Town and areas of Somerset. Some calls are set-ups, said Mr. Tucker.

?I can understand the reason (for the boycott), drivers are subject to abuse and violence. There?s numerous attacks, ripping off by certain people against taxi operators.?

He said many attacks went unreported as drivers felt that getting Police involved would be a waste of time.

?Some people throw bottles or stones at taxis. It?s happening quite a bit. My car was hit twice, once in Middle Road, Warwick and once in Middle Road, Southampton.

?There are many other areas, it?s happening all over the island.?

Asked why people were throwing objects at taxis Mr. Tuckers said: ?People out there are just mischievous or have a gripe against them.?

He said with their illuminated yellow signs taxis were more visible and thus became a target.

?I would say something happens at least once a week there?s a robbery or a non-payment or a non-payment.

?It?s a very, very sad situation.?

He said even experienced drivers were boycotting notorious areas which meant the law abiding were not getting service because of troublemakers.

?They are depriving their parents of a taxi in an emergency. Innocent people are being deprived of transport.?

Transport Minister Dr. Ewart Brown said violence against taxi drivers was unacceptable.

He said he was aware of the problem but had no information that the situation had got worse.

He said the Global Positioning System which Government will try again to introduce into cabs will have an alert button to warn Police that a driver is in trouble.

?We want taxi drivers to be safe.?

The Minister said the legislation would be introduced soon. Taxi drivers are opposed to GPS which they say will add to their costs.

Mr. Tucker said he was hoping to have talks with Government soon on plans to raise fares.

He said rebates on fuel and import duties could help stave off a massive hike.

Dr. Brown said he was happy to discuss the proposals and appealed for taxi drivers to stay in touch.