Dear winter: the State Duma proposed to ban overcharging in taxis in bad weather
The deputies proposed to ban overcharging for taxis during periods of bad weather and emergencies. They appealed to the Ministry of Transport and the Federal Antimonopoly Service with an initiative to set an upper limit on the indexation of travel costs due to weather conditions. Russians have complained en masse about high prices during snowfall — the reasons given are various: traffic jams, peak demand, lack of drivers and the dominance of Yandex Taxi. Earlier, the FAS had already recognized this service as a monopolist. Experts note that in order to solve the problem, it is important to develop competition in the market.
Why have taxi prices increased dramatically in the cold and snowfall
In Russia, it was proposed to set the maximum allowable increase in taxi fares during periods of bad weather or emergencies. Yaroslav Nilov, head of the State Duma Committee on Labor, Social Policy and Veterans' Affairs, addressed the initiative to the Ministry of Transport and the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS). The reason was massive complaints from citizens about a sharp increase in fares, which in some cases reached the cost of air travel around the country during frosts and snowfalls.
In the document, which is available to Izvestia, the deputy notes that the current dynamic pricing system in taxis, which automatically responds to increased demand, technical failures or changes in the road situation, leads to a significant increase in the cost of trips. According to him, this provokes an increase in social tension and discontent among citizens.
"Despite the fact that flexible tariff setting mechanisms are a market tool, today it is necessary to find a balance between the economic feasibility of carriers' activities and the protection of consumer interests," the document says.
The price increases allowed by algorithms, sometimes several times higher than the base tariffs, become an unreasonable financial burden for the population in situations where a taxi remains the only available means of transportation, the deputy noted in the appeal. According to him, this indicates the need to strengthen state control and, possibly, improve the regulatory framework to establish the maximum allowable increase in the cost of services in case of emergencies or adverse weather conditions. The parliamentarian suggested that the departments take measures to prevent "excessive price increases" and ensure the availability of transport services for all categories of citizens.
— The cost of a taxi is a socially significant issue, since it is a popular mode of transport, and any significant price changes immediately cause public dissatisfaction. Of course, tariffs can be adjusted depending on demand, but when the cost increases several times, this is unacceptable," Yaroslav Nilov explained to Izvestia, recalling that during snowfalls, a trip from the southwestern part of Moscow to Domodedovo Airport turned out to be more expensive than an air flight to St. Petersburg.
Therefore, reasonable restrictions on tariff increases are needed, which will allow drivers to save income, but will not lead to the establishment of monopoly prices for passengers. According to him, the size of the marginal surcharge in a taxi should be determined by specialists and industry experts, but the approach should be reasonable and reasonable: prices for trips should not increase several times.
Back in 2023, the FAS recognized that Yandex.Taxi occupies a dominant position in the country. Then the department noted that the possibilities of business inspections are limited by the moratorium. In February 2024, the FAS made "serious comments" to the service, which were related to overstating the cost of trips, as well as blocking drivers and passengers, Peter Ivanov, deputy head of the service, said in an interview with Izvestia.
The press service of the antimonopoly authority informed Izvestia that the deputy's appeal had been received by the Federal Antimonopoly Service and would be considered in due course. The editorial board sent a request to the Ministry of Transport with a request to comment on the prospects for supporting the initiative to regulate the taxi market.
On forums and social networks, people complain about the operation of the aggregator. On Yandex.Maps, with more than 700 ratings, the taxi service has an average score of one. User reviews relate to both the cost and the overall quality of the work.
"How do people get to work at minus 25 with such prices? You can't stand at a public transport stop, you have to wait for it for more than 25 minutes," writes user Vladislav.
"The cold weather hit and the cost of a taxi has doubled or even tripled. For a 2 km trip, you are asking for almost 900 rubles!!! Where's your conscience? It's terrible with the children's tariff," notes another user Sergey.
"Prices are out of my mind. There is no fixed cost," writes passenger Natalia.
What do business representatives think about market regulation proposals
Yandex.Taxi does not change fares in bad weather, the service's press service told Izvestia.
— The cost of a trip is automatically calculated from the cost of minutes and kilometers on the way and may increase if there are more people willing to leave than there are free cars nearby — at such times, an increased coefficient is included, — the company explained.
They also noted that in January, due to abnormal snowfalls and cold weather, for example, in Moscow, demand increased sharply with a constant number of drivers ‑ many switched from private transport or chose taxis instead of walking routes.
— Traffic jams and poor visibility increased the average travel time by 25%, and on some routes during rush hours — by half compared to a normal day. Due to the growing demand and the length of trips, the average check for a week with frosts and snowfalls increased by 20-30% compared to the previous week, the service said.
They added that the average cost per minute of a trip increased by 13% in Moscow over the year, including January 2026.
— Yandex.Taxi has technologies that allow users to save money, including when demand is high, and for drivers to maintain and increase income. For example, the algorithm may suggest that the user wait a little longer for the car, share the ride with a fellow traveler, and walk a couple of minutes to the boarding or disembarkation point. The service automatically offers such solutions and tells you how much you can save," the company explained.
They noted that in case of an emergency, the company always cooperates with regional authorities, jointly identifies the affected areas and reimburses passengers for the cost of trips from these areas at its own expense.
— The increase in the cost of travel in bad weather is associated not only with an increase in demand, but also with an objective increase in the costs of carriers. In winter, these are snowfalls, ice, uncleaned roads and yards, which leads to a slowdown in traffic. In such conditions, the driver spends more time and fuel on completing one order and can complete fewer trips in the same period. The price change compensates for this decrease in productivity and additional costs," the Maxim taxi service agreed.
They also noted that, unlike fixed-time employment, a driver's income directly depends on external conditions.
— The problem under discussion is most noticeable in the Moscow market. Here, the taxi service offer is limited by the number of cars in taxi companies. During periods of a sharp increase in the number of orders — during rush hours, bad weather, and holidays — the supply cannot physically increase, so part of the demand is simply cut off by increasing the price several times. At the same time, passengers can switch to well—developed public transport in the capital, the service recommended.
In the regions, the balance of supply and demand is achieved by involving part-time workers in the provision of services during peak workloads with a minimal increase in the cost of trips, the Maxim service noted. They believe that price fixing can lead to the opposite effect: if the trip ceases to compensate the driver for additional costs and risks, the number of available cars in bad weather decreases, and waiting time increases. As a result, some passengers may not receive the service at all.
How can I solve the problem of high taxi prices?
From a social point of view, setting restrictions on overcharging in taxis during bad weather is correct and fair, said Georgy Ostapkovich, research director of the HSE Center for Market Research. But from an economic point of view, the measure will not lead to anything good, since taxi drivers can stop their work at this unfavorable time, because in bad weather the trips are longer and they will simply lose income, he added.
According to the expert, in order to reduce the price, it is necessary to fight against monopolism, so that there is not one Yandex Taxi aggregator in Russia, but five or six such services, as it is in all developed countries today.
Oleg Palov, head of the Public Consumer Initiative, recalled that this is not the first time that the issue of overcharging in taxis during weather anomalies has been raised. Therefore, according to him, there is a rational grain in the fact that the service, which is a monopolist, does not arbitrarily increase prices, but according to some method that everyone understands, which would be developed by the industry expert community. Then it would be possible to identify abuses and impose restrictions on cost overstatement, the social activist emphasized.
As long as pricing is set at the discretion of a major monopolist in the taxi market, consumers will have questions about it, the expert believes.
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