Starting September 1, all drivers must take out an OSGOP policy if they want to transport passengers for a fee.
Photo: Mikhail FROLOV. Go to Photobank KP
It used to be taxed by the soul! Almost all first drivers proudly claim this. Now, this will not work: if you want to transport passengers for money, get an official permit. This rule was introduced last year. And from September 1 of this year, a novelty will be added: you cannot go on a route without an additional insurance policy – OSGOP.
It is not that expensive to obtain, but there is only one drawback: it will not be possible to do so without such a permit. But not everyone has such a permit. According to the Ministry of Transport, only 21,000 self-employed people have received the necessary document over the past 12 months. And another 600,000 of those who officially work in taxi companies. At the same time, the global estimate of the number of taxi drivers in Russia is 2.5 million.
It turns out that 75% of them will not be able to obtain an OSGOP policy. This means that they will not be able to continue working. And we are expecting a collapse of transport, a sharp increase in fares and waiting for a car not for 5-10 minutes, but for an hour and a half… And all this, in just one week!
But is the devil really as terrible as he is portrayed? Let’s find out.
WHAT IS OSGOP?
Literally – Compulsory liability insurance for carriers. To put it bluntly, this is a variant of OSAGO (Compulsory liability insurance for motor vehicles), only for companies engaged in passenger transport. But in essence, it is a contribution paid by these companies so that in the event of an accident, injured passengers receive increased compensation. By the way, this applies to everything: bus stations, metro, railways and airlines… Now it will also apply to taxis.
From September 1, every driver will have to take out an OSGOP policy if he wants to transport passengers for a fee. It doesn’t matter if it’s for the soul or not. Cost: from 1,300 to 5,400 rubles (as in the case of compulsory motor liability insurance, the characteristics of the car, the driver’s experience and length of service, and the presence of an accident on his record in which he was found guilty are taken into account). On average, according to experts, you will have to shell out 2,500-3,500 rubles. It would seem that it’s not that expensive. But…
“I am outraged on several points,” says Anton Shaparin, vice-president of the National Automobile Union. – Firstly, why is it necessary in the first place? This is, in fact, the third insurance. After all, a passenger injured in an accident will already receive payment for treatment at the expense of compulsory motor liability insurance and compulsory medical insurance. Why accept money from drivers for OSGOP? Secondly, how were the tariff rates calculated? And why are taxis many times more expensive than, for example, airplanes?
The question is reasonable. If we take the average cost of OSGOP compensation included in the cost of the policy (the so-called coefficient of risk of damage to health), then in terms of a vehicle we will see interesting figures. For a taxi, this figure will be at least 940 rubles per car. Even if you have to fly a helicopter – pay attention! – 7 rubles. For an airplane – 1 ruble. And for the bus – 13 kopecks…
The difference here is not significant. What a mess!
At the same time, as experts point out, according to statistics, the risk of injury in an accident while travelling as a passenger in a taxi is significantly lower than in the same bus.
However, the government insists that OSGOP is necessary. And the main dividend: the amount insured for damage to health or life compared to a normal OSAGO policy increases from 500 thousand to 2 million rubles.
WHAT IS SCARY
An OSGOP policy cannot be issued without a permit to work in a taxi. As we have already said, only one in four drivers employed in this field has it. Thus, from 1 September, theoretically 75% of taxi drivers will not be able to go to work. And this segment of the market is simply paralysing.
– The funny thing is that we simply cannot get this policy now! – says the owner of one of the capital’s private taxi companies, Roman Nemchinov. – Go to the website of any well-known insurance company, leave a request and there will be no problems. But the answer comes: “We will contact you,” and then silence… Even drivers who were worried about the problem have now simply given up. Everyone is waiting to see what happens next. It is possible that policies will start to be sold on September 1.
This information is also confirmed by aggregators: insurance companies will start issuing policies only on the first day of autumn. But they assure that drivers will have up to 60 days to process them. There is no talk of a ban on working without OSGOP from September 1. Although this is what scared us.
So if the collapse happens, it won’t be until November?
ARE YOUR FEARS REAL?
Market participants, experts and ordinary taxi drivers say that nothing bad will happen.
“The panic that has arisen around this issue is the work of unscrupulous carriers who are used to working according to alternative schemes and are very afraid of losing this opportunity,” says Anton Shaparin. – For example, you can conclude a car rental contract with a driver and a passenger. And in this way, bypass the taxi law: legally, a permit to work as a taxi driver is not required here. But in this case, the OSGOP policy will be necessary, and, as we know, it cannot be obtained without a permit. That is why they scare us with horror stories about a mass outflow of drivers and a sharp increase in tariffs.
Drivers themselves say that it will not be possible to scare them off with an additional fee. Firstly, it is not that expensive. Secondly (a classic of Russian reality): they hope that the severity of the laws will be compensated by the non-binding nature of their application. Or the presence of opportunities to avoid them.
“I remember how scared everyone was when consignment notes were introduced,” Ivan Artemyev, a self-employed taxi driver, gives the example. – For every day you must have a sheet with the marks of passing medical and technical examinations. If the traffic police stops you, but there is no document, you will immediately receive a fine of 30,000 rubles, the car will be sent to a special parking lot and all the other joys… And the traffic police will stop you, because for them, taxi drivers are like a sweet cake! What did those who passed this law think? Here I have a car parked outside my window. In order to continue the shift, I must drive myself to a specialized institution and undergo a medical examination. Return home. Then, already in a working car, go to a service station and undergo technical inspection. And only then start working. This is nonsense!
Let’s ignore the fact that there are more than 2 million taxi drivers in Russia. And in order to serve them all in this way, the entire medical sector of the country will have to work only for them. In practice, this is simply unrealistic.
– How do we get out of this situation? Yes, we buy everything at the counter, – says Ivan Artemyev. – A stack of travel sheets for a month costs 2-3 thousand rubles. Already with all the necessary marks.
According to the general opinion of employees in this service sector, all new laws and regulations are introduced solely to give bonuses to those who accept them. And to replenish the budget, of course. Waybills are a great thing when it comes to taxi companies or corporate fleets. Where cars spend the night in parking lots, drivers undergo all the control procedures and formalities there, strict control records, mileage, fuel consumption are kept…
“But nobody works like that now,” Roman Nemchinov shrugs. – Moreover, many drivers receive licenses for personal cars. And even if you use it for private purposes, you need to issue this travel document… Well, I went to the village for a week, where can I pass the medical and technical examinations? But according to the law, I can’t travel without them. How can you prove to the traffic police that we are taking my wife to the store and we are not passengers? Not to mention that even a compulsory civil liability insurance policy for a taxi is not so easy to obtain. You can’t just show up at the company’s office and ask for insurance – there will always be some difficulties. Usually this is done through agents, intermediaries… I think it will be the same with OSGOP. In general, laws are passed, restrictions and fees are introduced, but no one thinks about their practical application and expediency.
Experts also point out this nuance: there is no unified control system. Even in Moscow, where, according to drivers, “total raids on taxi drivers” are constantly being carried out, it is not possible to identify all offenders (who do not have a license, waybills or a car in obviously poor technical condition). But in the regions, especially in small provincial towns, no one does this at all. According to general estimates, even now, in the era of aggregators, almost half of taxi drivers in Russia are bombers. You can find a private trader in the center of the capital. What can we say about a regional center somewhere on the outskirts of the country?
“Even in the capital, traffic police officers cannot check that all taxi drivers have all the documents,” says Roman Nemchinov.
According to Roman, in theory this could be done by an aggregator company that collects the orders and distributes them to the drivers.
– You do not have MTPL, OSGOP, updated inspection card – you will not be connected (we will disconnect you from the service)! Yes, upload it to your personal account and travel, work. Attention, question. What will the aggregator do? – Roman argues. – Will there be a risk of losing a significant part of drivers with all the companions? Or will it close its eyes to these nuances and not become a nightmare for taxi drivers? The answer is obvious…
WHAT WILL CHANGE FROM SEPTEMBER 1ST
Experts say nothing. If tariffs do increase, it will definitely not be due to OSGOP policies.
“There are more pressing problems,” Anton Shaparin notes. – The price of cars is rising. For fuel, for service and spare parts. And all of this is included in the cost of taxi rides. If it rises, it will be for these reasons. And not because of the 2-3 thousand rubles that drivers will have to pay for the next insurance.
“KP” CALCULATOR
Taxi driver economy
How much do taxi drivers earn and what do they spend their money on? Let’s take the example of a taxi driver from the capital who rents a car and is registered as self-employed.
– Rent a car for a week at the “Comfort” rate (Toyota Camry, Kia K5, Chery Tiggo Pro 7) – 20,000 rubles (4,000 rubles per day with a 5-day work week).
– Earnings per shift – 10,000 rubles. This is already minus the aggregator’s commission.
You won’t be able to work for days: the aggregators will simply remove you from the queue after 12 hours from the start of your shift. As the drivers themselves admit, this is a very fair measure. Working more means putting both yourself and your customers at risk. And not everyone can handle 12 hours. That’s why they often work 10 hours a day.
– The cost of gasoline is at least 1,000 rubles.
– Taxes (if you are registered as a self-employed person) – 6%. In our case – 600 rubles.
– In total, about 4,500 rubles are available per day. Per week (for 5 working days) – 22,500 rubles. Per month – 90,000.
“This is true if you work in Moscow without trying to die behind the wheel,” says Roman Nemchinov. – Depending on the situation, you can “increase” even more, if you are lucky with orders, by taking an extra day off or working 12 hours a day. If you have your own car, the “escape” is also different, but here you have to take into account the costs of its maintenance.
In any case, the income of an ordinary taxi driver, even in Moscow, is unlikely to exceed 120 thousand rubles a month. Decent, but not mountains of gold.
