Taxi driver robbed at knifepoint for $30

Transport Minister Steven Joyce. Photo / Alan Gibson

Two men held a knife to a taxi driver's throat before pushing him out of his cab and driving off - for $30 in coins.

The attack happened on Parker Rd in Oratia, West Auckland, on Saturday and police are appealing for public help to find the robbers.

Transport Minister Steven Joyce will tomorrow meet representatives of the taxi industry to discuss a commissioned report on options for increasing security, triggered by the brutal slaying of Auckland Co-Op driver Hiren Mohini.

It is nearly two months since the 39-year-old father was stabbed to death by a passenger on View Rd in Mt Eden.

Police have identified a key suspect who is believed to have fled to China.

The victim of the latest taxi driver attack is also Indian.

New Zealand Indian Central Association law and order spokesman Ashokbhai Gaiwala was very saddened.

"It's a society issue, we can't put it in a segment as in Indian, but unfortunately the majority of Indian people are in small businesses or work in isolated hours or places and become very vulnerable," he said.

The manager of Cheap Cabs, where the driver worked, described him as a "family man" in his 50s and said he was very experienced. "He's not even talking about returning to work at the moment," said the woman, who did not want to be named.

The driver picked up a passenger at the McRae Way taxi rank in New Lynn about midday on Saturday and noticed another man in a fluorescent construction-style vest waiting.

When he returned from delivering his first fare the man was still there and he picked him up.

"Because he was dressed in the construction jacket he thought he was bona fide because there's heaps of construction going on in New Lynn," his manager said.

The passenger directed the taxi driver to Oratia and another man was picked up from outside the New Lynn police station en route.

"That [police station] obviously made him feel safe," the manager said.

The pair ordered the driver to a church carpark on Parker Rd.

"That's when bells should have gone off," she said, adding that Cheap Cabs drivers were advised to always get drop-off addresses from passengers.

"But he was a very well-spoken guy, talked to them about the rugby and all the rest of it," she said.

The whole trip took about 10 or 15 minutes and when the cab reached the church one of the men pulled a knife on the driver and threatened to kill him. He then pushed him out the door on to the road and drove off.

The cab was found abandoned in Glen Eden a short time later.

The driver was not injured but was extremely shaken by the attack, his manager said. She said it was all for about $30 in coins.

"I mean it's ridiculous, but you know, they're thinking they're going to get big things."

She said she was extremely frustrated by the Government's slowness in legally enforcing cameras in cabs.

"I have been in this industry for as long as anybody and there's just one thing that needs to be passed by law," she said.

A spokeswoman for Mr Joyce said a decision on security measures would be made at tomorrow's meeting "with a view to taking a proposal to Cabinet after Easter".

Detective Sergeant Peter Litherland, of the Waitakere CIB, said staff were going through security footage from the New Lynn area and hoped to find images of the attackers, described as Maori, aged 25 to 30 years old.

Anyone with information is urged to contact Mr Litherland on (09) 839 0627 or Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111.