Russian taxi firms lobby for restrictions on Internet services

Russian taxi companies are seeking the imposition of restrictions on Internet-based taxi providers such as Uber, the Kommersant newspaper reported Monday.

Established firms contend that Internet-based dispatchers are deliberately undercutting prices and operating illegally with impunity, according to Kommersant.

“Aggregators do not have the same costs as we do: they don’t conduct medical examinations of their staff, provide training or renew their fleets,” Kommersant quoted Felix Margaryan, head of New Yellow Taxi firm, as saying during a recent discussion in the Public Chamber, a state consultancy institution.