"Why leave people without jobs?" - Azerbaijani taxi drivers unhappy with new regulations
Azerbaijan new taxi rules
“They make new decisions about taxis every day. For people, taxis are the last hope to earn a living, and that’s been taken away. Now, who will explain why so many people had to be deprived of their jobs?” says one of the Baku taxi drivers.
On March 28, the Cabinet of Ministers of Azerbaijan adopted a new resolution regulating taxi work. Taxi drivers greeted this decision with dissatisfaction.
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Who will (not) be able to work as taxi drivers?
“Currently, there are 60,000 taxis operating in Baku, and this number needs to be reduced to 20,000,” said deputy minister of Digital Development and Transport Rahman Humbatov last month during the discussion of new requirements in the Milli Majlis.”
The decision made by the Cabinet of Ministers will come into effect on July 1, 2024. From this date onwards, cars older than 15 years will not be allowed to operate.
According to the Azerbaijan Land Transport Agency (AYNA), 62 percent of cars used as taxis in Baku are over 15 years old. This means that almost two-thirds of the cars currently operating as taxis will be considered ‘unsuitable’ for this purpose from July.
Furthermore, in order to obtain a taxi operation license, vehicles must meet an environmental standard of no less than EURO-5. Additionally, all taxis must be equipped with a POS terminal for cashless payments, a video camera with a memory card capable of storing data for at least one month, and air conditioning.
In order to begin working as a taxi driver, individuals need to obtain a permit, a pass card, and a certificate of completion of special training. The trainings, organized by AYNA, educate drivers on taxi driver behavior rules and regulations governing passenger transportation by car. These trainings have been conducted since August 2023. They are fee-based, costing 76 manats [approximately $45]. Drivers must pass a test after four days of training.
“A permit is a type of permission issued to legal entities or individual entrepreneurs wishing to provide taxi services. A pass card, on the other hand, is intended for the vehicle used as a taxi. According to the ‘State Duty’ law, the state duty for a permit is 125 manats [approximately $74], and for a pass card, it’s 25 manats [approximately $15],” said AYNA spokesperson Turan Orujov to the BBC.
He added that 14,000 drivers have participated in these trainings to date.
“They make decisions without considering people’s situation”
Farid Asadov, 46, has been working as a taxi driver for three years. Although he is a lawyer by profession, he worked for many years in the sales departments of various private companies. Left without work in recent years, he began collaborating with one of the online taxi services. Now, he has no other source of income besides taxi driving to support his wife and two young children.
“Why do people with higher education, like me, work as taxi drivers? Because there are no vacancies offering a decent salary in our field.
Government officials say no one will be left without a job, they’ll hire us as public transport drivers (bus drivers). Let’s say thousands of former taxi drivers start driving buses. What will the remaining 40,000 people do? They won’t buy so many new buses…
Decisions are made without considering people’s circumstances. Let’s see how our fate unfolds,” says Farid Asadov.
Farid underwent special training at AYNA and received a certificate. Despite this, in about two months, he won’t be able to work as a taxi driver anymore because his car is over 15 years old.
“Of course, there should be regulations in this field. Everyone wants to be served by a good driver in a quality car. But there was no need to be so extreme. The requirement regarding the technical condition of the car is logical, but what does the year of manufacture have to do with it?
There are also people who bought a car on credit to work as taxi drivers. They will be forced to sell the car, for which they couldn’t fully pay off, and buy a new and expensive car on credit again. Who will use a new car as a taxi? It’s not profitable.”
Taxi services will become more expensive, and public transport will be overloaded
Since the majority of cars used for taxis do not comply with the new rules, a sharp reduction in their number will lead to an increase in taxi service prices and unemployment, according to independent experts. The increase in the cost of taxi services will also encourage passengers to use public transport more, exacerbating the situation in the metro and buses, which are already overcrowded during peak hours.
“Last year, according to deputy minister of Digital Development and Transport Rahman Gumbatov, after raising the minimum price for taxi rides from 1.5 manats [approximately $1] to 2.5 manats [approximately $1.5], the volume of taxi usage decreased by 14 percent. He stated that the number of daily bus trips increased by 100,000, reaching 1.6 million passengers.
“It would be better if the government only collected taxes and duties and participated in other methods of regulation and safety issues. However, when using such harsh regulatory methods, jobs will be cut, prices will rise, and this will be a solution that will to some extent lead to an increase in unemployment,” said economist Natig Jafarli to the BBC.
“I have no hope for the better”
Nazim Abbasov is 61 years old. He has been working as a taxi driver for 37 years. For the last 12 years, he has been waiting for the clients near the Ganjlik metro station in Baku.”
According to him, life for self-employed taxi drivers worsened after taxi services were established. Now, with the new regulations, they won’t be able to work at all.
“Everyone started calling taxis from these specialized services because their prices are lower. So, we already had few clients, and now it turns out I won’t be able to earn a living.
Look, my car is 18 years old, but it’s in excellent condition. There are 6-7-year-old cars, damaged due to accidents, but mine doesn’t have a single scratch. Now, because of its age, these cars won’t be allowed to work, and I’ll be sitting at home waiting for someone to give me two manats so I can buy bread for the family?!” asks Uncle Nazim.
He says that he not only lacks funds to buy a new car but also to acquire the necessary technical equipment, such as cameras, POS terminals, and so on.
“When they introduced these requirements, they didn’t consider why someone who has enough money to buy all this equipment should work as a taxi driver? Taxi drivers are precisely those who don’t have such money.”
Azerbaijan new taxi rules
