Taxi owners pressured to keep up payments
South African Taxi Finance has had to repossess many vehicles due to 'bouncing debit orders' due to non-payments.
POLOKWANE – Taxi financial institution, South African Taxi Finance (SATF), has since the Covid-19 lockdown, recorded an overwhelming loss of sales, and will therefore, be assisting prospective taxi owners with credit to purchase only second-hand vehicles.
Previously, SATF also offered finance for new vehicles.
This is according to the national spokesperson of the South African National Taxi Council (SANTACO) Rebecca Phala, who briefed Polokwane Observer about last Tuesday’s stakeholders meeting with the council’s provincial executive, at Bolivia Lodge.
“This is for the interim until what is lost can be recouped,” she said.
Phala mentioned that the financing institution, in which SANTACO has shares in, has had to repossess many vehicles due to ‘bouncing debit orders’ due to non-payments, which have reflected badly on credit statements of taxi owners. Some of who are affiliated with the council.
“And that is why, we invited the Transport Education Training Authority (TETA) to engage with the provincial leaders about the damaged credit record owners are left with, because they often just stop paying and do not engage with the financial institution.
The engagement also sought to reach an understanding of how operators can be trained, without interfering with normal operations, in a different province, where our training academy is,” she explained.
Phala said this will also address customer grievances about, often ‘rudely offensive’ reactions by some operators.
On the agenda was also a workshop for the provincial executive committee, by national management, in which policies of the council are set to be amended to embrace new ways of operation.
“We are looking to add the use of several e-hailing technology applications that are locally produced, the integration of a cashless payments system is one of the many things we are looking at,” she added.
