A “viral video” of a late-night dispute between a male taxi driver and an alarmed female passenger highlights bad behaviour that unfairly tarnishes the industry, one operator has claimed.

The exchange, widely circulated on social media, included the driver telling his passenger to return to her home country and making light of her safety concerns.

However, the driver in question, while conceding he “could have handled it better”, said yesterday he had been dealing with an intoxicated passenger who had been unclear on where she wished to be driven.

Dwayne Weeks also said he was being filmed without his knowledge. He told The Royal Gazette: “She was taking a video of me in anger. I was not aware of it.”

He added: “If she needs an apology, she can have an apology, full force. I don’t mean to upset my customers.”

Mr Weeks said he had collected the passenger who was “totally under the influence” on Front Street at about 3.30am, about a week before the video appeared online.

He said that she “argued with me all the way because she didn’t know where she was at”. He said he was told Harrington Sound instead of the specific location in Flatts.

In the undated two-minute clip, the taxi driver is heard telling his apparently foreign passenger: “With that attitude, you should go back to your country.”

Asked why, he responds: “Because you’re giving me a hard time about where I’m going.”

The passenger states: “I’m asking you where you are taking me because I am on my own and I am scared.”

He replies: “Scared of what? You’re not my type — stop flattering yourself.”

The clip includes a long pause from Mr Weeks after the passenger asks: “Please tell me where you’re taking me.”

He then repeatedly asks her what she has to be scared of, asks her “is it alcohol talking” and then tells her to “be quiet and let me do my job”. He added: “Wherever you come from, go back.”

Mr Weeks said he heard yesterday that the video had gone viral.

It garnered large numbers of comments that condemned the way he dealt with the passenger.

He acknowledged: “I could have done it a little nicer.”

However, he maintained the passenger “surprised” him with the implication that she felt in danger.

“Why are you assuming? In your country, taxi drivers take people around places and do things? Not in Bermuda.

“I got angry. I have a paper that says she has to act right in my car.”

Mr Weeks also claimed the passenger had tried not to pay her fare at the destination and damaged his vehicle’s automatic door on her exit.

He added that he had heard nothing of any formal complaint being made.

Shari-Lynn Pringle, a longstanding taxi driver, said of the video: “The public will look at this and bash all taxi drivers. But we get calls from women who want woman drivers because of things happening like this.”

Ms Pringle added female passengers could also be left uneasy because a male driver might end up knowing where they live.

She acknowledged that the video showed only a snippet of the ride but said: “She’s clearly not harassing the driver. Something has triggered her to make her feel the need to record it.

“His entire attitude and demeanour, and the way he responded to her was totally inappropriate, not just as a taxi driver but as a decent human being.”

Ms Pringle highlighted remarks at the beginning of the clip, including the taxi operator telling his passenger, in response to her concerns, that she was “not his type”.

She said: “Having been a victim of rape in a car from getting a ride with somebody, I immediately feel for her.

“I’ve had conversations already on how men do not seem to realise there’s a hierarchy of power. Men have a power structure that supersedes that of women.”

Ms Pringle said of the passenger: “She has every right to ask questions. He took a long time to respond and when he finally did, he was rude.”

She added: “I encourage people, if you have a complaint, send it to the Transport Control Department, and if they feel strongly, state in the complaint what they want as recourse.”

The transport ministry was asked for comment last night.