To carry in Russian: The State Duma has relaxed the requirements for taxi cars

The requirements for the localization level of taxi cars will be significantly relaxed, and their introduction will be postponed to a later date, with a number of regions receiving an additional delay. The relevant amendments were approved by the State Duma. However, after these requirements come into force, up to half a million drivers may leave the taxi market, and the cost of updating the fleet will cost hundreds of billions of rubles, experts say. At the same time, taxi fares may rise sharply, experts warn. The details are in the Izvestia article.

Points and SPICs

The State Duma adopted amendments to the law "On the Organization of Passenger and Baggage Transportation by passenger taxi in the Russian Federation" in the second and third readings, providing for the introduction of requirements for the localization level of models that are used as taxis. Information about this has been published in the legislative support system of the lower house of Parliament.

Initially, it was assumed that the new law would come into force on October 1 of this year. However, now the date of its entry into force has been postponed to March 1, 2026. From this moment on, only cars are allowed to be used as taxis, the localization level of which "corresponds to the cumulative number of points established by the regulatory legal act of the Government of the Russian Federation for the purposes of purchasing automotive products to meet state and municipal needs." According to the decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated March 16, 2024 No. 317, the threshold of 3.2 thousand points is currently in effect for passenger cars, from 2027 it increases to 3.5 thousand points, and from 2028 to 3.7 thousand points.

At the same time, the final text of the law partially relaxed the requirements that taxi cars must meet. In particular, a standard has been introduced that allows the use of models for the production of which special investment contracts (SPIC) have been concluded before March 1, 2025. Moreover, by a separate decision of the government, it is possible to expand the list of such machines at the expense of models for which the SPIC was concluded after March 1, 2025. The rules regarding the SPIC will be in effect until January 1, 2033. After this date, only cars with the required number of localization points will be allowed to work in a taxi.

In addition, a number of regions are delaying the entry into force of the requirements for the localization of taxi cars. In particular, they will become effective in the Kaliningrad Region and the regions of the Siberian Federal District from March 1, 2028, and in the regions of the Far Eastern Federal District from March 1, 2030.

Economics instead of taboos

In the first reading, this bill was passed back in January 2024, and since that moment, the controversy has not subsided around it. So, in February of this year, the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs took the initiative to postpone its introduction to autumn 2026. The day before, the Public Development Council called for a review of the requirements for the localization of taxi cars. Instead of banning the use of foreign cars, social activists suggested prioritizing the use of domestic-made cars.

According to Irina Zaripova, Chairman of the Council, the consolidation of technical criteria related to the localization of taxi models in the federal law is meaningless in modern economic conditions and this will not encourage the government of the Russian Federation to develop programs for the production of specialized cars for taxis.

"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 of taxi regulation, multiply the shadow sector and cause discontent among Russian citizens accustomed to a certain level of quality and comfort," she stressed.

The industry is not against the localization of taxi cars, but this procedure should be carried out not by imposing bans, but primarily by economic measures, says Stanislav Shvagerus, head of the competence center of the International Eurasian Taxi Forum. One of the levers of influence may be the introduction of a paid and differentiated principle, depending on the degree of localization, for entering information or changes into the regional taxi registry, he believes.

"This will ensure the fairness of regulation: carriers retain the possibility of using non—localized cars, but it will be more economically profitable to use Russian models," he told Izvestia.

The Maxim taxi service believes that the adopted law has been complicated by "bureaucratic, completely incomprehensible points and spikes." The only criterion required for localization is the fact that the car was manufactured in the Russian Federation, the company notes.

— The federal ministries are responsible for working with automakers, starting new ones, and creating conditions for them to transfer the full production cycle to Russia. And the carriers have absolutely nothing to do with it. Any passenger car manufactured in Russia should be suitable for working in a taxi, the press service of the service told Izvestia.

Localization issues

The proposed requirements for the localization of taxi cars raise doubts among experts. According to Maxim Kadakov, the editor-in-chief of Za Rulem, in the initial version (without taking into account the SPOKes), almost all cars assembled in Russia were actually cut off from the taxi industry, with the exception of 3-4 models that meet the points standards. Now there is another extreme in the law, he points out.

— We have concluded SPICS for almost all models, which assume the achievement of a certain level of localization by a certain period of time. But now, in the vast majority of cases, this level is very small. However, such models can already be used as taxis," Maxim Kadakov told Izvestia.

In his opinion, a scheme with a list of specific models that can be used in taxis would be much more logical. And it could be expanded quickly if a particular machine reaches the required localization level. Stanislav Shvagerus also believes that the issue of localization of taxi cars should not have been solved at all by adopting a law. A government decree with a list of models would be sufficient for this, which could be expanded and supplemented much faster if necessary, the expert is sure.

Under attack — the self-employed

According to the calculations of experts from the analytical center under the government of the Russian Federation, it will take up to 290 billion rubles to upgrade the taxi fleet across the country. At the same time, the analytical center notes, the main burden will fall on self-employed drivers who work in private cars.

For example, in the Far East and Siberia, for which deferral is provided, the share of foreign cars owned by the self-employed in the taxi industry is 94% and 76%, respectively. Thus, according to the forecasts of specialists of the analytical center under the government of the Russian Federation, due to the introduction of localization requirements, up to 500 thousand drivers may leave the taxi market who will not be able to replace a personal car with one suitable for the new criteria.

Analysts' forecasts are also confirmed by data from the regions. Thus, according to the Ministry of Transport and Road Management of the Novosibirsk region, 4,563 carriers are currently registered in the regional taxi registry, of which 4,087 have the status of "self-employed", which is more than 89% of the total number of carriers. At the same time, out of 18,724 cars registered in the regional taxi registry, only 591 cars are Russian, which is 3.2% of the total number of vehicles.

— Currently, the main tool for updating the fleet of passenger taxis is leasing, this product is not available to individuals (self—employed), - noted in the Ministry of Transport of the Novosibirsk region. — When the bill is passed, most drivers will have to leave the field of passenger taxi activity, or go into illegal business, which will negatively affect fares and passenger safety. The lack of a high level of comfort and safety makes domestic cars unattractive to carriers and passengers.

Go into the shadows and raise tariffs

After the introduction of requirements for the localization of taxi cars, self-employed drivers who work part-time in personal cars finally lose the point of legalizing themselves in the industry, says Valery Korneev, head of the Digital World Union.

— They actively went into the shadows before after the adoption of the 580-FZ "On Taxis", but now this process will accelerate. They will work as before — via chat rooms, without taxes and controls. There are already more than 10 thousand such chats. According to the autumn survey, there are more than 2.5 million drivers in their cars," he told Izvestia.

In his opinion, taxi companies will be forced to switch to the Chinese economy segment, "whose cars, as practice has already shown, run twice as long before decommissioning as their Korean or Japanese counterparts."

— Travel prices will increase by at least 40-60%. Perhaps only the old Russian feature will save us: we have strict laws, but balanced by the non-obligation to enforce them. Medical examinations and technical inspections prescribed in the same 580-FZ, because none of the taxi drivers pass, but this does not prevent the reduction of accidents," Valery Korneev said in a conversation with Izvestia.