Pandemic Proves No Hurdle For Moscow Taxi Trade With Government Subsidies... While Here In London The Taxi Trade Is Close To Collapse According To The GMB.

Despite suffering an extremely tough 2020, taxi operators in the Russian capital will still be able to purchase new vehicles thanks to subsidies paid out by the Moscow government.

Moscow Transport has continued subsidising taxi and car-sharing companies’ fleet renewals throughout 2020 despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

This year marks the eighth year in a row that the subsidies have been paid by the Mayor of Moscow. More than 115 taxi companies submitted applications for refunds, which amounted to 288 million rubles (€3.3 million) to purchase more than 11, 000 new vehicles. Over the course of the last eight years, the subsidies paid to taxi operators has totalled 0.9 billion rubles – more than €10 million.

Moscow Transport says that thanks to this support, 70 per cent of city taxi cars were purchased with the direct financial support of the Moscow Government.

Since 2018, Moscow Transport has helped car-sharing operators as well. Three companies have, according to the authority, already renewed 3,700 cars for the value of 52.7 million rubles (nearly €600,000). This year they have applied for another 200 million rubles for 8,500 new cars. 

Meanwhile, here in London: 

The London taxi industry is on the verge of collapse, according to the GMB union.

Cabbies and Taxi operators in London have seen a reduction in bookings by as much as 85 per cent since the start of the pandemic. 

Taxi operators in the city have lost hundreds of thousands of pounds while drivers have caught the virus on the job, said a spokesperson for the union. 

Christmas is traditionally the busiest time of year for the taxi industry but with the Tier 3 restrictions many fear their livelihoods will be “decimated”.