In Russia, there are plans to tighten control over how much time taxi drivers spend behind the wheel. If a driver overworks, violates work and rest regulations, or regularly commits serious offenses, they may be disconnected from orders through taxi IT services. The authorities plan to develop this mechanism by 2029.
The Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and regional authorities, with the participation of taxi aggregators, must develop a mechanism that will allow temporary or permanent disconnection of drivers from taxi ordering services, according to a document approved by the Russian government.
According to the concept, the aggregator platform will be able to restrict a driver's access to orders if they commit serious or repeated traffic violations.
The main idea behind the new measures is to control drivers' work and rest schedules. Currently, the normal working week for taxi drivers should not exceed 40 hours. For a five-day working week, a shift usually cannot be longer than eight hours.
With summarized accounting of working hours, a shift can be extended to 10–12 hours. But even in this case, the driver should not remain behind the wheel indefinitely. After every 4.5 hours of driving, they must take a break of at least 45 minutes. This rest can be divided into several parts.
Controlling overtime is necessary not only to comply with labor standards but also for the safety of passengers and other road users. A tired driver reacts worse to the road, makes decisions more slowly, and can make a mistake in an emergency situation.