The Moscow region has introduced fines for taxi drivers actively soliciting passengers at airports. From now on, taxis can only be ordered through official service desks or mobile aggregator applications. Legislators believe that these drivers inflate fares and obstruct the smooth flow of passengers within airport premises.
Fines have been introduced for taxi drivers soliciting passengers directly at Moscow region airports Domodedovo, Sheremetyevo, and Zhukovsky. The relevant law has come into effect in the Moscow Region. Taxi services can now only be booked via official stands or through aggregator applications. What does this mean for both drivers and passengers?
Taxi drivers are now prohibited from offering services not only at terminal exits but also within 30 meters of any building on airport grounds. Violators face fines ranging from 5,000 rubles for individuals to 50,000 rubles for legal entities. Travelers report that persistent individuals still occasionally offer rides to the metro for 500 rubles at exits, but their numbers have significantly decreased. Taxi driver Igor Pchelkin, who works through aggregators, confirmed he has not encountered such solicitors:
When asked about the presence of “bombers” (private illegal taxi drivers), Pchelkin replied: “No, they`ve been gone for a long time. They`ve probably all been caught.”
He also confirmed that control by MADI (Moscow Administrative Road Inspectorate) is in place: “They stop and fine. It`s probably around 12,000 rubles fine, and the car goes to the impound lot. You pick it up after court. Friends of mine got caught about two years ago.”
Describing his work, he mentioned time limits within the airport territory: “Ten minutes, that`s it. After that, there`s a 6,000 ruble fine if you don`t manage to exit.”
According to market participants, it`s significant that even legal taxi drivers and transport companies can no longer directly offer their services at airports. Taxi bookings are now only possible through aggregator applications or official booking stands within terminals. For instance, Sheremetyevo`s website recommends using Yandex Taxi, while Domodedovo`s site lists Yandex Taxi and the carrier Domtrans. Most experts surveyed by Business FM expressed concerns about potential market monopolization.
Oleg Amosov, chairman of the public movement “Taxi Forum,” noted that previously at airports, for instance, at Vnukovo, a single company provided vehicles for rent. For an additional fee, drivers received a pass allowing them to stay on airport grounds for up to an hour, whereas regular taxi drivers could only enter for ten minutes. A similar system, he stated, existed at Domodedovo, where one or two affiliated companies paid the airport for special parking and access. Amosov believes the situation has now changed: “Now at that parking lot, it`s Yandex Taxi, everything is branded Yandex Taxi, the booking stand is for Yandex. The application that primarily operates there is Yandex. It absolutely doesn`t need these people who walk around somewhere offering their services.”
Since January of this year, a similar crackdown on unofficial taxi drivers has been underway at St. Petersburg`s Pulkovo Airport.
Andrey Belov, development director at “Petersburg Taxi 068,” described the situation at Pulkovo: “Only Yandex can operate there; no other transport company, of which there are many, no self-employed individual, no sole proprietor can work at Pulkovo.” He also noted that entry to Pulkovo is limited to 15 minutes, after which a 2,000 ruble fine is imposed.
Belov added that in recent months, internet outages have become a problem, especially due to UAV attacks. “According to the most conservative unofficial estimates, over 50% of Yandex drivers are migrants – when the internet is cut off and navigators don`t work, these migrants cannot work without a navigator. They simply go home until the internet reappears. We`ve had situations where the transport committee at Pulkovo sent urgent SMS messages at one in the morning to taxi company directors: `Please send cars to Pulkovo, there`s no one to work there`.”
For passengers arriving in Moscow, the absence of a pushy crowd of taxi drivers upon exiting the airport is an undeniable advantage, especially given the numerous instances of passenger deception. However, on the other hand, some admit that among these solicitors, one could occasionally find drivers offering a decent service at a significantly lower price than aggregators.
Rupert Blackwood 
Clement Ashworth