Taxi operation centres have to play fair and square!

On International Eurasian Forum TAXI the issue of legal status of taxi operation centres is to be raised. Today 69^th federal law “On Amendments and Supplements to Separate Legislative Statutes of the Russian Federation” regulates only the activity of individual taxi-drivers and taxi businesses. All of them have to receive the permission to run business from the local authorities, provide taxi checkers design and set taximeters, maintain pre-trip medical check for drivers etc. Taxi drivers must have total driving experience not less than 3 years. However there are no similar requirements for companies that accept taxi orders and allocate them among taxi drivers. Thus, taxi operation centres are beyond the legal framework. Their responsibility is not prescribed anywhere and that is what unfair entrepreneurs take advantage from.

Such situation awakes grave concern from many taxi companies. The reason is that taxi operation centres do not have their own car parks, they work only with independent drivers titling themselves as information services, and therefore they do not pay taxes. Taxi operation centres create tariffs by their own, dump, what often makes their competitors, taxi-drivers and taxi businesses, work at a loss and leave the market.

At present there are claims received by the State Duma to spell out the responsibilities of so called “taxi operation centres”. Special attention during the Forum will be paid to that issue on the second day working session, dedicated to RF legislation implementation in the taxi sphere.