Due to the increased cost of cars and spare parts against the backdrop of sanctions in Russia, the number of taxi work permits decreased by 50,000 in six months to 410,000, Forbes reported, citing data from the Public Taxi Development Council.
Irina Zaripova, chairman of the council, told the publication that taxi companies are deliberately losing permits – most of them continue to conduct an already shadow business, while some close and sell or rent cars. According to Zaripova, in the regions, small carriers can work with taxi aggregators without the appropriate documents, and drivers without permits go into “bombs” and work in places popular in cities – near railway stations and airports.
One of the reasons for the decrease in legal taxi drivers in Russia is the sanctions, which have led to the fact that there is now a shortage of new cars on the auto market and their cost has increased by up to 60%, the cost of spare parts has increased by 30-40%, tires – by 120-150%. “Because of this, taxi companies are trying to save money: cars will be used as long as possible, so in a couple of years there is a risk of getting an outdated fleet of cars that will threaten the safety of transportation,” Zaripova said. According to her, the current situation will lead not only to a decrease in the quality of service, but also to an increase in the number of accidents and criminal situations due to the lack of control over the condition of both cars and drivers.
Andrey Popkov, chairman of the coordinating council of the interregional trade union Taxi Driver, also confirmed that taxi drivers do not renew their permits for financial reasons. According to him, the permit is valid for five years, and by the time of renewal, drivers need to change the car, since the previous one is becoming unusable by this time. “I don’t know anyone who would decide to buy a Kia Rio for 2 million rubles to use it in a taxi – it will never beat back,” he said.
The representative of the taxi “Maxim” Pavel Stennikov assured that the outflow of drivers is always observed in the summer, as part of the workers migrate to other seasonal jobs or vacations. Anatoly Malyshev, Managing Director of Citymobil, believes that due to the departure of a number of foreign companies from Russia, new people without experience will come to taxis.
After the start of the special operation and the introduction of anti-Russian sanctions, some automakers began to suspend their activities in the country. General Motors, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Ford, Land Rover, Toyota and Mazda have suspended deliveries of their products to Russia, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Volkswagen, Hyundai, Renault and Skoda Auto have suspended production in Russia.
According to the Automobile Manufacturers Committee of the Association of European Businesses, sales of new passenger cars and light commercial vehicles (LCV) in Russia in the first half of 2022 decreased by 57% compared to the same period last year, with a total of 370,228 vehicles sold. The fall in sales in June amounted to 82% in annual terms to 27,751 vehicles.
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