Details of the agreement were not immediately known, but Thembisa Duma, the South African National Taxi Council’s eThekwini spokesman, said: “I am so happy. I can talk, I am happy. The strike is over. We reached an agreement with the municipality. Going forward we are going to sort out all the outstanding issues. The strike is suspended.”

However, he said that he could not comment on the agreement as it “was drafted by lawyers” and it had only been signed some five minutes before speaking to ANA.

He said that it was an agreement that would see both the municipality and the taxi industry “correcting their mistakes”.

Comment was not immediately available from the municipality or the provincial transport department.

The taxi industry in Durban embarked on a strike earlier this week after more than 300 vehicles were impounded for not having the correct route permits.

The industry has claimed in the past that the provincial transport department has been at fault for not issuing route permits timeously, especially when permits need to be renewed or transferred.

Thousands of commuters were left stranded and businesses reported varying numbers of absenteeism due to workers being unable to find alternative means of transport.

Earlier in the day, a joint statement released by the provincial department and the municipality, said that an agreement to expedite the release of 85 taxis by Friday had fallen through.

According to the statement 81 minibus taxis were released after the owners paid a fine. Owners who presented a valid route permit were fined R1,500 and those who did not, had to pay a fine of R3,000.

According to the same statement a request had been made for the provision of more trains and the municipality would increase the number of buses it operates.

ANA