There is a sharp shortage of taxis in Russia: rising fuel prices and declining profitability of transportation are causing drivers to go out on the roads less frequently. This has provoked a mismatch between supply and demand, as well as an increase in trip costs. According to various estimates, the outflow of drivers from the industry is between 5 to 20%. Dmitry Nazarov, the CEO of the F1rst taxi fleet, reported that the number of drivers has decreased by about 20%, while Mikhail Manhaev, the head of the '369' taxi fleet, mentions a figure of 5-10%.
Fuel crisis in numbers and facts
The fuel crisis has already affected more than 50 regions of Russia, with restrictions on fuel sales implemented in 18 of them. Drivers are allowed no more than 50 liters or one full tank. The governor of the Irkutsk region, Igor Kobzev, has appealed to law enforcement agencies to resolve the situation. President Vladimir Putin himself acknowledged the problems in the fuel market. It has been noted that Ukrainian strikes on Russia's oil refining infrastructure have exacerbated the fuel supply situation.
Eyewitnesses report that queues at gas stations have reached even Rublevka. Sergey Privalov, a board member of the National Taxi Fleet Association, noted that drivers are trying to avoid long routes and trips to city centers due to the risk of running out of fuel. Meanwhile, Russia has requested about 50,000 tons of AI-92 gasoline from Kazakhstan to ease market tension. Former Minister of Fuel and Energy of Ukraine Ivan Plachkov also emphasized that Russia no longer has safe routes for delivering fuel and transformers to Crimea, which only complicates the overall picture.
The situation with taxis and fuel in Russia raises serious concern, and possible solutions are still being discussed. The fuel crisis and taxi shortage are links in the same chain: issues in logistics and fuel supplies directly affect the availability of transportation services for the population.