An assault on a taxi passenger on Saturday (April 23) night has left the taxi operator frustrated and concerned.

A Yello! taxi was parked outside Night and Day just before midnight when two men smashed a window and assaulted the single passenger occupant.

“There was an unprovoked attack on a passenger in the vehicle,” Yello! owner Ramash Swarmy said.

“They smashed the window and then attacked him.”

Ramash said the driver had locked the doors to the taxi when the men started banging on the outside of the van. The driver was contacting the taxi dispatch team to seek police assistance when the men broke into the vehicle.

Ramash said the police attended promptly and an ambulance was also called. He believed the injuries to the passenger were not serious.

Ramash said his drivers often experience aggressive behaviour although it is rare to witness a physical assault.

“We’re just trying to support the community so people can go out and have a drink. The drivers take a heap of abuse when they’re just trying to do their job.

“We do this [job] and it's not been an easy couple of years,” Ramash said. 

“You try to have drivers who are happy out there and you get stuff like this.

“We’re just trying to say please be kind to the drivers.”

Police said that alcohol was a factor in what they called a ‘serious assault’.

“We have good lines of enquiry with this and CCTV footage, but any help from the public who witnessed it or know the offenders would be helpful and all information can be divulged to the team at the [Police] station,” acting sergeant Adrian Kerin wrote in Crimeline.

PHOTO: Wānaka App