Shocking footage has captured the moment a taxi driver pushed a passenger to the ground after confronting her about an unpaid fare.
It is alleged that the woman hitchhiked in a taxi before being dropped off in Rhodes, Sydney’s central west, with the fare being around $80.
She started to leave when the driver stopped her on the sidewalk and asked her to pay for the fare.
Stunned locals gathered around the couple, with one recording the incident as it escalated, as the taxi driver tried to get the woman back into the vehicle.
‘Do not touch me. It’s an assault! cried the woman.
She slaps the driver in the face, prompting him to turn towards the crowd.
Shocking footage captures the moment a taxi driver bumped into a passenger over an unpaid fare
‘See? She hit me, okay? he said.
The driver continues to stand in the way of the woman and repeatedly tries to push and grab her, forcing her back against the wall of a storefront.
A passerby urges the driver to let the passenger go.
“What are you going to get out of her?” he said.
The passenger shouts several times for the driver to get out of her way.
The driver is seen pushing her away, dodging another slap in the face and following her down the road.
“Get away from me! cried the passenger.
Moments later, the passenger is pushed to the ground by the taxi driver, before being seen crying on the ground as the driver stands over her.
A man off-camera is heard saying, “Man, that’s too far.”
Stunned locals gathered around the pair, with one recording the incident as it escalated
The crying woman eventually gets up to walk away as the driver is defeated on the road.
Footage of the heated argument was uploaded to Facebook where social media users were quick to criticize passers-by for telling the driver to let the passenger go.
‘Let her go! That $80 might be what this hardworking man was looking for to feed his family for the night,” one wrote.
“Let someone take your only means of feeding your family that day. You will do the same.
Another added: “Mr. Taxi Man is just trying to make a living. It’s hard.’
Other social media users defended the woman saying the driver should have backed out.
“He can’t treat her like this regardless,” one wrote.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted NSW Police for comment.
