The Ministry of Development plans to update the rules for the taxi and car-on-demand market

The Ministry of Community and Territorial Development of Ukraine has prepared a package of legislative amendments aimed at bringing the market for passenger transportation by taxi or private cars on demand out of the shadows. The ministry wants to establish separate rules for operators of digital taxi-booking platforms and self-employed carriers (there are currently 300,000 such carriers in Ukraine, including 9-seater “cars on demand”).

The corresponding draft law “On Amendments to the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses Regarding Passenger Transportation by Taxi or Private Cars on Demand” is intended to create an effective mechanism for controlling the sector, as the current licensing model does not meet modern digitalization requirements, creates unfair competition, and leads to budget losses.

What is proposed:

• Separate the regulation of taxis and passenger cars on demand from the general rules for bus transportation.
• Supplement the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses with a new Article 133³, which establishes administrative liability for violating the terms and conditions of passenger transportation by taxi and passenger cars on demand.

The document provides for liability for:

• Providing paid passenger transportation without obtaining the right to provide such services or outside the scope of employment with a motor carrier;
• Violation by self-employed motor carriers of the requirements of the law regarding the conduct of activities;
• Providing transportation services by passenger cars on request, received not through a digital platform, information about which is not available in state information systems in the field of land transport safety;
• Carrying out transportation without complying with the requirements for the technical condition of vehicles and mandatory taxi equipment; violation of the Rules for the provision of passenger motor transport services, including the establishment of increased liability for repeated violations within a year.

According to the document, businesses and drivers should prepare for a significant increase in financial liability for operating outside the legal framework. The following scale of fines is proposed:

• 1,000 NMIС (non-taxable minimum income of citizens) or UAH 17,000 - for providing transportation services without acquiring the status of a business entity (or without an employment contract with the carrier).
• 500 NMIС (8,500 UAH) - for providing car services on demand if the customer is not found through a digital platform (de facto ban on “curbside” car services on demand).
• 500 NMIС (8,500 UAH) - for working through a platform that is not included in the register of the Unified Complex of Information Systems in the Field of Land Transport Safety.
• 500 NMIС (8,500 UAH) - for the absence of technical control of the car, taximeter (for taxis) or electronic identifier in the passenger compartment.

As for taxi ordering platforms, their activities are planned to be legalized: platforms must be registered in state information systems. Cooperation of drivers with unregistered platforms will result in a fine being imposed on the carrier itself.

If the law is passed by parliament, it will come into force six months after its official publication. Control over compliance with the new rules will be entrusted to Ukrtransbezpeka and the National Police.