throat of an American tourist on Tuesday have arrested a suspect.

The 56-year-old taxi driver was apprehended in Dockyard around 12.30 p.m.

yesterday after the incident at Horseshoe Bay on Tuesday afternoon.

The man was taken to Somerset Police Station for questioning and was expected to be bailed to appear in Magistrates' Court next week.

Also yesterday Transport Minister Ewart Brown condemned taxi terrorism.

And he described the alleged attack as "a deplorable incident''.

But Dr. Brown stressed: "If this incident took place as was described, it represents an aberration, something which is not normal and customary in Bermuda.

"The vast majority of our taxi drivers and operators are responsible men and women who take very seriously their ambassadorial task of transporting visitors.'' Dr. Brown was speaking after a cab driver allegedly held a knife to a 54-year-old tourist's throat and racially abused him after the visitor accidentally hit the man's vehicle while opening another cab's door.

Dr. Brown also dismissed claims by taxi drivers that his Permanent Secretary Herman Tucker had threatened them over long delays at the airport.

The angry Bermuda Industrial Union taxi drivers said Mr. Tucker had warned that unless they provide a faster service at the airport, he would consider competition from other forms of transport.

Dr. Brown said: "It's not the policy of the Government or Minister to threaten anybody.'' But he added that waits for cabs of up to an hour for incoming passengers at the airport was unacceptable.

Dr. Brown said: "What Mr. Tucker did share with them was that in the event they are unable to fix the problem, we will fix it.

"This is the Ministry of Transportation -- not the Ministry of wait for transportation.'' Dr. Brown added that he believed that the problem -- especially on Thursdays -- was due to clashes with the cruise ship schedules.

But he said there were enough taxis and drivers to find a solution to the snarl-up without heavy-handed tactics by Government.

He said: "I think it's just a matter of poor distribution -- which is one of the problems we believe will be solved with the central dispatching system.

"And it's our intention to have that in place by the end of this year.'' Dr. Brown said the taxi division of the BIU were in the driving seat when it came to organising owners and operators.

And he added: "We still have a hand out to the taxi owners' division -- their statements notwithstanding.'' DISCRIMINATION DIS