Business asks government to abolish patent system for foreign drivers

The transport committee of the business association “Business Russia” has asked the government to cancel the regional patent for foreign drivers of heavy trucks in order to attract new personnel to the industry. This was reported to Vedomosti by a source in a logistics company and confirmed by an interlocutor close to the committee. Vedomosti sent a request to the press service of Delovaya Rossiya.

An acute shortage of drivers, according to sources, leads to truck downtime and carriers’ financial losses. Now, if a foreigner wants to work as a driver in Russia, he must obtain a patent for work, explains one of the interlocutors in a transport company. But such a document is valid only within one subject of the Federation – the one where it was received. “That is, a truck driver can deliver goods between cities within the same region, but not between several cities,” Vedomosti’s interlocutor explains.