The expert warned about the risks of limiting taxi fares in bad weather

The initiative to limit the rise in taxi prices during severe weather may lead to a decrease in the availability of rides and an outflow of drivers from the market. Alexey Ivanov, the owner of the Alliance Trucks commercial vehicle dealership network, told Izvestia about this on March 6.

According to him, the increasing coefficient in tariffs is not an attempt by aggregators to increase profits, but a mechanism that encourages drivers to get on the line in difficult weather conditions.

He drew attention to the statistics from the beginning of the year. According to the Check Index, in the first month and a half, the demand for taxi rides increased by 7% amid frosts and snowfalls, and the average check increased by 10% and reached 681 rubles. In Moscow, the number of trips increased by 10%, while the cost of a kilometer in January, according to Rosstat, increased by 30% compared to the same period last year.

"In conditions of a sharp increase in demand, tariff restrictions may lead to a shortage of cars on the line. Currently, the increasing coefficient in some regions can reach three times the value or higher, which indicates an imbalance between the number of orders and available drivers. If this mechanism is removed, drivers may simply refuse to enter the line in difficult conditions," the expert explained.

Ivanov also noted that the industry is already facing a number of systemic challenges. Rising prices for cars and fuel, as well as new requirements for the localization of cars, increase pressure on the market. According to estimates by the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP), the industry may lose about 200,000 drivers due to the new requirements, as about 79% of cars used by private carriers do not meet the new standards.

"As a result, competition will suffer, and for passengers, the main result will not be a cheap, but an inaccessible trip. Therefore, in my opinion, instead of "freezing" prices, it would be more correct to work on the transparency of their formation," the expert said.

Separate meals: The State Duma intends to differentiate between taxi and ridesharing

They want to separate private car carriers from professional drivers.

On the same day, Izvestia reported, with reference to the ministry's response to Yaroslav Nilov, head of the State Duma Committee on Labor, Social Policy and Veterans' Affairs, that Russia was considering the possibility of fixing the size of the increasing coefficient when setting taxi fares during bad weather and emergencies. The Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) of the Russian Federation noted that such a mechanism currently operates in different regions: in some of them it can reach triple the value or higher, which significantly increases the cost of travel.

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