Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze announces third phase of Taxi reform

The Mayor of Tbilisi, Kakha Kaladze said that the first and second phases of Taxi reform have been completed and the third stage is being planned. He talked about this at the Tbilisi City Hall meeting.

As Kakha Kaladze noted, the third phase of the Taxi reform will ensure better quality and stable economic conditions in the Taxi market.

“I can’t talk about the Taxi reform and not give the public the wonderful results we have received over the last week. Many were skeptical about this reform, many did not believe that it was possible at all. I am glad that we did not let skepticism win and we did everything for it to work. We had an active communication with Taxi drivers owning a permit. I think this is a reform that will go down in the history of the city and will play its part in the welfare of our citizens,” noted Kaladze.

According to the Mayor, there are two categories of taxi - A and B and, as of today, Category A has approximately 7700 licensed drivers, and B has 8800. As Kaladze noted, “these are just two stages of reform, the second of which we have just begun. This reform will inevitably have a third phase, tailored to better quality and stable, economic conditions in the Taxi market.”

As Kaladze noted, society will be informed about the requirements for the third phase in the near future, “so they have enough time to prepare for the reform.”

The mayor also spoke about important aspects of the Taxi reform, noting that the reform would help regulate traffic in the city.

"We have so far taken steps related to security and visual standards. You know that taxi driver with both categories is required to undergo a technical inspection twice a year. Unfortunately, we have taxi drivers whose cars have failed to comply with the requirements of the law. That was about 30%,” noted Kaladze.

As the mayor said, “we have managed to create a visual standard and bring the cars in line with it so that it does not put financial pressure on taxi owners. We created a free voucher system and it worked very well. The main task is to ensure that the permits that the taxi drivers get are not just a sheet of paper. I assure you that this will be valuable to them.”

Since October 1, the second phase of the taxi reform has launched. It envisages the division of taxis into two categories, A and B. A category taxi should be white. Taxis in this category also have the right to take passengers off the street. Unlike A, category B taxis will mainly operate on call.

Tbilisi Mayor announced the taxi reform in February 2018, saying that it is necessary to regulate this field. On July 27 of the same year, the City Council approved the regulation. It was then said that the second phase of regulation would start on October 1, 2019.