‘Cars need to be repainted — what for?!’: a law on taxis adopted in Tatarstan
Parliamentarians discussed the work of taxis in the republic at the session of the State Council of Tatarstan on 13 July. The deputies have adopted the draft law “On the organisation of passenger and baggage transportation by passenger taxi in the Republic of Tatarstan” in the first reading and in general.
As the correspondent of Realnoe Vremya reported, the deputies criticised the draft republican law regulating the activities of taxis:
“They say that no extra money is required. But do cars need to be repainted?! And in some areas, they don't paint cars. What for? After all, there are special signs at the top, and people get used to them. If it is there, it means it is a taxi," said Khafiz Mirgalimov, a deputy of the State Council from the Communist Party.
Besides, he pointed out the poor operation of public transport, which is why residents have to wait a long time for a regular bus. “Why is the fare rising not in proportion to salaries and pensions?" the deputies of the State Council were outraged at the parliamentary hour dedicated to the organisation of passenger transportation in Tatarstan. “We have oil, gasoline, diesel fuel, and one should blame the West for that. I compared the fare for the Volga and Southern districts — we are also not up to par," Mirgalimov said.
“In Kislovodsk — 20 rubles, and we have almost 40! Why?" Deputy Takhir Khadeev added.
Another problem, the parliamentarian believes, is that worn-out buses run between municipalities, there are no subsidised routes. In response, the head of the Ministry of Transport of the Republic of Tatarstan stated that the existing system of subsidising passenger transportation is already at the limit of its capabilities. “We pay 1,4 billion rubles [to compensate expenses]," said Farid Khanifov. “We believe that the fare is balanced. Nevertheless, the fleet of vehicles is being updated. We have started working on two projects: 11 municipalities are going to receive 142 new buses.”
In autumn, taxis will rise in price again
Federal Law No. 580 “On the Organisation of Passenger and Baggage Transportation in a passenger taxi in the Russian Federation” comes into force on September 1 of this year. It introduces comprehensive regulation in the field of taxis, which changes the current model of regulation of the taxi market. Within the framework of bringing the republican legislation, its own draft law on taxis has been developed.
According to the adopted draft law of the republic, from autumn only white and yellow cars will work in taxis in the republic. Obtaining permits to work in a taxi of individuals and legal entities — taxi drivers, taxi companies and aggregators — will be regulated. The carrier companies will be responsible for the safety of the passenger in the taxi and the customer's claims.
Earlier, experts have already warned that a new increase in the services of carriers is coming due to new rules for taxi aggregators, which start working this autumn.
The changes imply the introduction of fines for transferring orders to drivers without an official license. It is clarified that for individuals the fine can be up to 3 thousand rubles, and for legal entities — up to 200 thousand.
Against the background of innovations, the market may be significantly reduced, since currently only one out of five taxi drivers has a license for passenger transportation. According to the CEO of the company Moy Avtoprokat (My Car Rental), Dmitry Matveev, the cost of trips may increase at least twice. At the same time, an independent expert of the transport industry, Alexey Tuzov, said that prices may increase fivefold.
Tatarstan is adopting a law on taxis among the first 20 regions, Chairman of the Committee of the State Council of Tatarstan on Housing Policy and Infrastructure Development Alexander Tygin said. According to him, the approaches of the subjects are different. For example, in St. Petersburg and Penza, a colour scheme has been established and certification has been applied, an ecological taxi class has been introduced for the first time. In total, the federal law provides for 21 requirements in regulating the taxi market, while Tatarstan has limited itself to only a few of them. In the future, it is planned to introduce certification of drivers for knowledge of infrastructure facilities and for the environmental class of engines.