The State Duma adopted in the first reading a bill on punishment for taxi order aggregators

The State Duma adopted in the first reading a bill on sanctions for aggregators of taxi orders: the fine will reach 500 thousand rubles. for transferring the order to a carrier that does not have a work permit. Market experts, however, called the amounts too small and the punishment ineffective. “United Russia” has already promised to review the size of the sanctions, as well as to fix the new offenses for the second reading.

The amendments to the Code of Administrative Offenses, adopted on Wednesday in the first reading, were introduced by a group of parliamentarians back in 2019. For violation of the “procedure for processing information about the order”, a fine for legal entities of up to 10 thousand rubles is introduced. For transferring an order (or for “providing access” to information about it) to a taxi driver who does not have a work permit, a legal entity can be fined up to 200 thousand rubles. (up to 500 thousand rubles for a repeated violation). The police and regional authorities will enforce the rules.

In the current Code of Administrative Offenses, we recall that there are no penalties for aggregators, but fines of up to 30 thousand rubles are fixed. for legal entities for the lack of information on tariffs in the cabin of the car, up to 50 thousand rubles – for the absence of “checkers” on board and a lantern on the roof.

The State Duma on Wednesday supported the amendments “conceptually” on the condition that they be revised for the second reading and synchronized with the so-called taxi law, which comes into force on September 1, United Russia deputy Alexander Teterdinko said.

The document in question was prepared for many years and was adopted at the end of 2022. It contains many innovations in the industry, including requirements for order aggregators. So, they are assigned responsibility in the case of passengers injured in an accident – if the order was transferred to a driver who does not have a work permit. It is also prohibited to allow taxi drivers with three or more unpaid fines the day before transportation, as well as drivers who have not passed the “certification” (its procedure will be established by the region) for knowledge of “transport infrastructure” objects and historical monuments.

• As part of the revision for the second reading, the deputies will raise the bar of responsibility (the amount is still unknown) for violation of the rules of transportation, follows from the words of Alexander Teterdinko and the conclusion of the Duma Committee on State Construction.
• Two new compositions will appear: violation of the “requirements for the carrier” (for example, using a car that is not included in the taxi register) and violation of the “requirements for the implementation of activities” of the aggregator (for example, transferring the order to the driver without permission).

Amendments will be prepared until July 5th.

Yandex and Citymobil did not comment on the amendments on Wednesday. The bill needs to be finalized, Kommersant was told in the metropolitan department of transport: “It is necessary to add to the document the responsibility of the services under several more articles, for example, for providing orders to a person without permission, or to a person whose permit has been suspended or canceled, or to a driver who does not comply requirements.” The amendments, they are sure of the deptrans, give aggregators additional responsibility to passengers, taxi rides will become safer and more comfortable.

The head of the competence center of the International Eurasian Taxi Forum Stanislav Shvagerus considers it logical to introduce fines for aggregators for transferring an order to an illegal taxi driver. However, he points out that if, for example, a regional register of taxi carriers (mandatory under the new law) does not operate in the region, the aggregator will be forced to stop transferring orders, creating inconvenience for customers, or transfer orders illegally.

“In preparation for the second reading, legislators will have to analyze the practical implementation of the new law on taxis,” says Mr. Schwagerus. “Otherwise, the entire system of transport services for the population by passenger taxis will be jeopardized.”

The fines proposed at this stage do not at all motivate “conscientious enforcement of the law,” says Elena Grashchenkova, a human rights activist and expert in the field of passenger taxis (she suffered in an accident with a taxi, and subsequently obtained compensation from Yandex through the court). She refers to the experience of Rospotrebnadzor, which for several years regularly fined aggregators for 100 thousand rubles. for various violations in the taxi industry, but this, according to Ms. Grashchenkova, did not work – the violations continued anyway. “Fines for legal entities should amount to millions of rubles, and in case of serious consequences, result in criminal prosecution under Art. 238 of the Criminal Code “Performance of work or provision of services that do not meet safety requirements,” the expert believes.

Ivan Buranov