The Ministry of Transport plans to transfer taxi drivers to electric vehicles

Eco-friendly transport is going to be given an advantage when included in the register

The Ministry of Transport has taken up the preparation of the legislative framework for the transition of the Russian taxi fleet to electric vehicles. The bill, which involves amendments to the law on the organization of transportation of passengers and luggage by passenger taxis, was published on the portal of draft regulatory legal acts.

The bill was developed in order to implement the Government-approved Concept for the development of production and use of electric vehicles in the Russian Federation until 2030. The price of electric vehicles is expected to drop to an attractive level by this year. As a result, the number of purchased electric vehicles should increase significantly; their share could reach 15% of the total car market. In total, by 2030 there should be more than 1.4 million electric cars in Russia. There are certain reasons for such bold forecasts: from 2021, when the concept was adopted, to the present day, the number of electric vehicles on Russian roads has increased from 16.5 to 26.5 thousand units (by 60%). In just one year, their number increased by 7 thousand; in 2022 there were 19.5 thousand.

It is expected that by 2030 the production of its own cars will be established in Russia, it will reach the level of 220 thousand cars per year. Now Russian automobile companies have launched the electric Moskvich, ELLada, and at least three Evolute models on the market; other manufacturers also have their own developments.

The authors of the bill emphasize that the use of electric vehicles, including Russian-made ones, in taxis should become one of the key incentives for the transition to electric transport. Their bill involves giving the authorities of the constituent entities of the Federation the right to establish the share of electric vehicles in the total number of passenger taxis, information about which is included in the regional register. Also, the authorities will be able not to register new taxis with internal combustion engines if this leads to a decrease in the share of electric vehicles in the register.