A bill will be introduced in the State Duma that will oblige taxi aggregators to control the pre-trip medical and technical inspections of drivers. It is proposed to organize inspections through taxi ordering service applications, where the taxi driver will undergo self-testing of health and check the technical condition of the car before departure.
Such a system should ensure compliance with mandatory procedures even for self-employed and individual entrepreneurs working on one car. It is expected that the obligation of aggregators will "positively affect the quality of inspections."
However, experts doubt the feasibility of the initiative: according to the Center of Competencies of the International Eurasian Taxi Forum, there are 8 million professional drivers in the country and there is a shortage of about 500 thousand doctors to conduct all the necessary checks in the required volume.
The initiative is aimed at improving passenger safety and the quality of taxi services, but without a clear enforcement mechanism, it risks remaining a formality and leading to higher fares.
