The three largest taxi services in Ukraine — Uklon, Uber, and Bolt — will stop accepting cars with European Union registration plates, the companies announced on May 9.
The decision will likely lead to fewer such cars in the taxi service and, potentially, longer pickup times for customers. However, the move only affects the services’ cheapest options (like UberX and Uklon’s Standard), where most of the EU-registered cars operate.
Ukrainian Uklon and Estonian Bolt will both introduce the change on May 24.
The decision was far from voluntary: the new rules will come into effect roughly six months after the Ukrainian parliament adopted two new laws governing customs. These regulations aim to prevent Ukrainian drivers from exploiting a legal loophole that previously allowed them to avoid customs fees on imported cars if they remained registered in the EU.
The car owners were given 6 months to clear their vehicles with customs and re-register them. Otherwise, starting May 24, they will face significant fines — roughly $600 if caught within Ukraine and $6,300 if stopped at customs.
Uber has decided to stop accepting such cars 15 days in advance of the laws coming into effect, sending out a press releases on May 9. Estonian service Bolt also sent out an official statement. Neither company mentioned the customs law. Instead, Bolt country manager Taras Potichniy said, “This is a strategic decision.”
When contacted by the Kyiv Post on May 10, Uber did not provide an immediate comment on the issue.
Sergey Smus, an executive at Ukrainian service Uklon, however, pointed out in a May 10 Facebook post that soon “EU-registered plates will disappear officially and it isn’t a cause for PR.” Smus announced that Uklon will support the law by excluding non-taxed automobiles from its service back in December 2018 in an interview with Liga.Net.
After the laws’ introduction, between Nov. 25 to Feb. 25, Ukrainian car-owners registered 200,000 imported cars with EU license plates, paying $450 million into the budget. The money will go to the pension fund.
The Kyiv Post’s technology coverage is sponsored by Ciklum and NIX Solutions. The content is independent of the donors.
