Taxi strike called off pending meeting

The national taxi strike meant to start today has been called off pending the outcome of a meeting between Transport Minister Joe Maswanganyi and the South African National Taxi Council (Santaco).

The council is expected to meet Maswanganyi today to discuss how taxi owners can obtain better interest rates from banks when purchasing new vehicles.

Santaco regional deputy chairman Songezo Mpanda said the decision to avert the planned strike came after delegations from various provinces met with the national leadership earlier this week.

“The province aligned itself with the national leadership. Therefore we [as operators in the metro] are also in line with the decision taken,” Mpanda said.

Among other concerns is that Santaco wants vehicle licences to be valid in definitely. Port Elizabeth taxi owners say they have been hit hard following increases in the price of the Toyota Quantum, with a 2017 model selling for up to R475 000.