This issue has not been resolved for almost 10 years, while 98% of the taxi market operates informally with no guarantee of passenger safety and transportation quality.
The members of parliament have recently resumed a conversation on stepping forward, but there is just one thing: the changes proposed by a group of deputies from the Verkhovna Rada’s transport and tax sub-committees are outdated and do not take into account today’s realities.
For example, the changes proposed by parliamentarians require using paper contracts and keeping them in one place, but this prevents mobile app usage in different cities. Moreover, drivers will not be able to work for several services at once, as this will be prohibited by contracts. It is also proposed to control and license transportation network companies, make them withholding agents for drivers and oblige them to keep accounts and prepare financial statements. And these are only a small part of the “progressive” ideas, which, in fact, are not the new ones and failed to receive a positive viability conclusion from our experts in modeling situations.
What do we offer?
BRDO experts together with the Ministry of Infrastructure and the Association of Responsible Carriers drafted a law that provides for the effective taxi market reform in Ukraine, in particular:
- introducing compulsory insurance from carriers to protect passengers. This will also allow indirect control of carriers’ accident rates (higher accident rate — more expensive insurance).
- it will be enough for drivers to submit a notification of taxi activities to the State Service for Transport Safety and for individual carriers to obtain a permit without the need to register as private entrepreneurs. Such a permit is commonly known as a “token” or “patent”, and it can be obtained for a month or a year, with the annual price not exceeding the minimum wage. There will be no need to buy an expensive certified taximeter, as it will be enough to have a smartphone instead.
- creating a state register of carriers that will be publicly available. In case of problems, passengers will be able to contact transportation organizers or the police. In turn, the availability of reliable and accessible information about drivers will lead to the situation when taxi services stop working with those who have a bad rating or a high accident rate due to road traffic accidents.
In summary, passengers receive improved quality and safety of transportation along with affordable prices as well as the possibility of insurance payments in the event of road traffic accidents. For drivers, it will be possible to pay all taxes and fees as a one-off payment, there will be no need to communicate with fiscal authorities and the format of inspections will be simplified (only the availability of permits will be checked).
Therefore, we call on parliamentarians to have a constructive discussion on the concept of taxi market reform in Ukraine that should protect passengers, drivers, transportation organizers, as well as solve other existing problems. History shows that several previous draft laws with a similar punitive rather than problem-solving approach have remained just wasted papers.