Tbilisi Gov’t plans to register all taxies

The Tbilisi Mayor’s Office plans to register every taxi driving in Tbilisi.

As the Tbilisi Mayor’s Office stated, registering every working taxi is necessary to guarantee the passengers’ safety; it is also believed that regulating taxi services will reduce the heavy traffic in the capital city.

“The taxi service is a complete mess in Tbilisi and we should somehow regulate the field,” Deputy Mayor Irakli Lekvinadze said.

However, the Mayor’s Office only unveiled its plans concerning the registration of active taxis; the possibility of restrictions on unregistered vehicles has yet to be publicly announced.

Some companies providing taxi services say that all vehicles providing a taxi service should be under the umbrella of an official company.

However, those who do not belong to any company say that their income is very low, and if they are incorporated into a company they will have their meagre wages divided.

It is well-known in Tbilisi that this area of public transport requires regulation, as due to the current economic problems, simply too many people use their cars as a taxi.

There are many people who work a day job at and supplement their income in the evening by driving a taxi.

Many people comment on the dirty nature of the interiors of many taxis, as well as the fact that some do not even seem safe to drive.

Most alarming of all are incidents between drivers and passengers which cast doubt on the psychological faculties of the driver; arguments over the price of a journey are not uncommon, but most alarming of all, young foreign women have reported instances of sexual harassment in recent years.

Clearly there are a range of issues which need to be addressed.

However, the process seems to be quite complicated and painful for those for whom driving a taxi is their only source of income.