The Taxi Development Council asked the State Duma to review the localization of cars

The Public Council for Taxi Development has called for a review of the draft law on the localization of cars in Russian taxi transportation, which is scheduled to be considered in the second reading on May 13. Instead of banning the use of foreign cars in taxis, social activists suggested prioritizing the use of cars localized in the Russian Federation. This is stated in the address of the chairman of the Council Irina Zaripova (available to Izvestia) addressed to the Speaker of the State Duma Vyacheslav Volodin.

The appeal says that the draft law needs additional revision, which would include defining the requirements for a localized taxi car in accordance with the provisions of Federal Law No. 488-FZ dated December 31, 2014 "On Industrial Policy in the Russian Federation." At the same time, it is proposed to introduce a legislative mechanism for the priority use of Russian industrial products (taxi cars) instead of a prohibitive norm.

"Priority should be based on a fair differentiated system — economic benefits for those using domestic cars and increased payments for those using foreign cars for various economic reasons," the council noted.

The organization believes that fixing technical criteria in the Federal Law "is meaningless in modern economic conditions and will not encourage the government of the Russian Federation to develop programs for the production of specialized cars for taxis, as was practiced in the Soviet Union and is currently being implemented in China."

"A simple ban on the use of non-localized means of production of passenger taxi services has no analogues in Russian industrial policy in other sectors of the economy, will overload the current administrative system for regulating passenger taxis, multiply the shadow sector and cause discontent among Russian citizens accustomed to a certain level of quality and comfort of Russian taxis," the letter says.

Domestic driver: the introduction of taxi localization may be postponed to 2026

The industry is asking for a complete revision of the bill

On May 6, it was reported that the State Duma Committee on Transport is considering the possibility of a localization bill coming into force in the spring of 2026. Prior to that, on April 10, it became known that the State Legal Department (GPU) of the Presidential Administration of the Russian Federation insists on the need for further discussion of this bill.