Under Romania’s new taxi law, which came into force on Thursday, the drivers of companies that provide alternative transport services are liable to fines.
The protests of Romanian taxi drivers against alternative ridesharing services have yielded results. They demanded the elimination of the competition, which they regarded as unfair because the drivers of these companies did not have similar obligations as taxi drivers and, moreover, their incomes were not subject to tax.
The changes made by the government to the taxi law which came into force on Thursday and which make alternative ridesharing almost impossible have already caused effects. Four drivers were fined in Bucharest, three of them being banned for using their cars for six months. Under the new provisions, drivers who use ridesharing platforms such as Clever, Bolt and Uber and who do not have a taxi licence are liable to fines that can go to as much as 10,000 euros.
The transport minister Razvan Cuc says, however, that the new law does not ban ridesharing platforms and has advised the drivers who were fined to appeal the fines in court if they feel they were wronged. The authorities have given assurances that they will issue new legislation to regulate this market and the operation of companies such as Uber and Clever. Transport minister Razvan Cuc:
"We've been working on the draft of the order for a month. The representatives of Uber, Clever and Bolt came to the ministry, we talked, they had some suggestions and we agreed to hold a new meeting next week to finalise and integrate these observations. So we are working to regulate this field. The order we have issued, Ordinance no. 21, is intended to combat piracy. As far as I know, piracy is when you transport people and do not declare the money you receive. I know that in Uber's case, when you place an order, the payment is made online and proof is issued that the payment was made, so they are not pirates."
According to the Coalition for a Digital Economy, which represents Uber, Bolt and Clever, the number of ridesharing drivers working on Thursday dropped by 25% compared with the daily average, which led to an increase in waiting time to more than ten minutes. "This is caused by the uncertainty created by the delay in the adoption of specific regulations and the enforcement of the changes to the taxi law", explained the representatives of the Coalition for a Digital Economy, adding that this uncertainty is likely to continue until the government passes the new regulation.
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