Taxi owners who claim they are being ripped off by vehicle finance and insurance companies are looking for a parallel model to help the industry overcome financial problems. Taxi owners brought major roads in Johannesburg to a standstill on Thursday demanding better financing terms for taxis. The disgruntled owners and taxi associations say they are paying up to 28% interest on loans from some companies. The industry has threatened a national shutdown if changes are not made to the existing financing model. "Taxi Choice is the business wing of Santaco‚ so effectively we are the taxi industry’s business wing," says Thulani Qwabe‚ chief operating officer of Taxi Choice, referring to the industry body, the South African National Taxi Council. "The taxi industry’s ambition is to own its value chain, such as owning our finance companies. We want to have ownership in a vehicle‚ insurance and tracking device company. "But to start our own companies is an extremely difficult thing to do‚ so...
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