Man arrested over racist rant on Wellington bus

Warning: Video contains strong language

A Lower Hutt man has been arrested after a video of a racist rant on a Wellington bus against two young men who appeared to be Muslim was published online.

The incident happened on an NZ Bus in the Lower Hutt suburb of Naenae on Wednesday morning.

The footage, shot by an Iraqi Muslim woman sitting behind the man, shows the man calling out to the pair and accusing them of being "Islam c***s" and "shooting innocent people".

"Go back to your own country," he said.

One woman on the bus stood up for the young men and called out "welcome to New Zealand" to them before telling the man to behave himself.

The man then repeatedly told the woman to "shut your mouth up b****".

Police today said they had identified and arrested a 66-year-old Lower Hutt man in relation to the incident.

The man will appear in Hutt Valley District Court on Tuesday where he will face charges in relation to the incident.

Hutt Valley police area commander Inspector Sean Hansen said he wanted to acknowledge and thank members of the local community who provided information that helped to identify the man.

NZ Bus spokeswoman Tonia Haskell last week said the company was investigating the incident.

The video has been viewed more than 69,000 times since it was posted on Wednesday.