Baku taxi drivers declare a strike: causes and possible consequences

From April 2, thousands of taxi drivers in Baku will go on strike.

As stated in an interview with Oxu.Az by the head of the Taxi Drivers Union, Elshad Eldarov, if their demands are not met, they will continue their protests. Regarding the demands, Eldarov said that drivers want an increase in the number of taxi stands, permission for taxi drivers to use bus lanes for picking up and dropping off passengers, and establishing a maximum distance for the minimum fare.

"Drivers travel 3 kilometers for a minimum of 2 manats 50 gapiks, but there is no defined limit for how many kilometers maximum they can travel for the minimum price. Therefore, sometimes passengers can travel 10 kilometers for 3 manats. Our other demand is to increase the number of taxi stands in the city center. For example, on Neftchilar Avenue, Azerbaijan Avenue, Yusif Safarov Street, Rashid Beybutov Street, and many others, there are no taxi stands," noted Elshad Eldarov.

He also emphasized that taxi drivers are looking at this issue from the passengers' perspective as well. If an elderly or sick person wants to take a taxi and orders it through a mobile application, the driver won't be able to pick them up upon arrival without getting fined. For example, if a passenger is standing in front of the State Puppet Theater, how can a taxi driver pick them up? There isn't even a dashed line for us to enter and pick up the passenger. Therefore, it is required that taxi drivers with a distinctive sign be allowed to enter the bus lane and pick up or drop off passengers within 2-3 minutes.

"People struggle to obtain a 7-year certificate to work as taxi drivers, but they aren't provided with conditions to operate. Taxi drivers are fined 100 manats for picking up and dropping off passengers in the bus lane and 80 manats next to the bus lane. This causes material damage to them," added Eldarov.

Transportation expert Elmeddin Muradly, answering Oxu.Az's questions about the existing problem and ways to solve it, said that taxi drivers have been talking about these problems for a long time and are waiting for help. The number of taxi drivers has been reduced from about 70 thousand to 30 thousand. This achievement is commendable in terms of "cleaning up," but in parallel, serious requirements have been imposed on taxi drivers today. For example, the mentioned problems interfere with their activities. The number of taxi stands is small. In this case, if taxi drivers are forced to enter the bus lane, they will be fined 100 manats and given 3 penalty points, and if they stop next to the lane - 80 manats and 2 points respectively.

According to Muradly, taxi drivers should be perceived as managers of one type of public transport. Previously, the Baku Transport Agency (BTA) stated that taxis are a comfortable type of public transport, but today the Azerbaijan Land Transport Agency (AYNA) does not recognize this. If another structure is created tomorrow, it may also evaluate taxi activities differently, and this is the wrong approach. The issue should be regulated by law. Do we consider taxis as a type of public transport or not? We need to find a specific answer to this question.

According to the expert, in global practice, taxis are allowed to enter and even move in the bus lane. The road is not wide enough to build a separate lane for each type of transport. We need to listen to taxi