Funding options to financially assist taxi buyers are going to be explored by several government departments and National Treasury, transport minister Joe Maswanganyi said.

Last month, a taxi strike took place in Gauteng which saw members of the South African National Taxi Council (Santaco) barricade all major routes and freeways. They protested the “exorbitant” interest rates when buying minibus taxis and a lack of access to financing. Another strike was planned for last week, however it was called off.

A meeting took place between the Santaco and the transport department last week Friday. This followed a commitment by the department to meet with leaders in the transport industry to discuss the industry’s transformation.

“Up front, we would like to indicate that we agreed with the industry to put on hold the planned strike for July 12 to allow for further engagement on issues that Santaco brought to the attention of government,” Maswanganyi said.

“Both government and Santaco agreed to work together to confront challenges that the taxi industry continue to experience on a daily basis as clearly articulated in the meeting,” he added.

The taxi council has on many occasions expressed its concerns over the delay in the issuing of operating licences and the steep interest rates they are charged when buying these vehicles.

Speaking about the council’s meeting with the department, Boy Zondi, Santaco’s deputy president, said: “We agreed with the minister to set up committees to look into all these issues. If we get frustrated, we will inform the minister that we see no progress and therefore will march.”

Following the meeting, Maswanganyi acknowledged that the issue of introducing a subsidy needed to be urgently addressed, and said that as government, they have acknowledged the frustration that the taxi industry is experiencing with regards to accessing finance.

Exploring the introduction of a subsidy is the way forward, he believes.