Cab prices, fuelled by competition, fall steeply in Moscow

May 20 2016

RIR

More than 260,000 Muscovites use taxi services every day.

Shutterstock

The increasing presence and rise of app-based cab services like Uber and Yandex Taxi has, over the past five year, forced Moscow taxi services to substantially lower their fares to remain competitive.

The taxi drivers of Moscow have reduced their prices by close to 30 percent over the last two years, said Maxim Liksutov, head of the Moscow department of transport and infrastructure on May 17, according to the News City Agency of Moscow website.

"According to our statistics, every taxi ride on average costs Muscovites less than 500 rubles, which is 30 percent below the average check in 2014 and 25 percent less than in 2015," said Liksutov.

More than 260,000 Muscovites use taxi services every day, he said.

The Moscow taxi market has changed drastically over the past five years, with the appearance in the city of three main taxi aggregating services: the Russian service Yandex.Taxi (since 2011), the Israeli network Gett (since 2012) and the American company Uber (2013).

Approximately 55-57 percent of all taxi orders in Moscow are made through the Uber, Gett and Yandex.Taxi apps, writes the Russian business daily Vedomosti, quoting Oleg Amosov, chairman of the Forum Taxi public movement.

NATO resumes contacts with Russia — Stoltenberg

Russian billionaire with Midas touch invests in Indian taxi services

taxi Economy RIR