Establishing consistent regulations for passenger transportation is crucial, according to Lukashenko.
In a recent meeting, President Alexander Lukashenko expressed concern over the issue of illegal passenger transport operators in Belarus, who disregard work and rest regulations, working from morning till night, and deliberately ignore safety requirements.
The meeting, held to thoroughly examine the issue, highlighted the need for the state to assume a more active role as a regulator in the sector. Over 10,000 vehicles were checked in the first 9 months of 2023, resulting in approximately 9,000 violations. These practices lead to unfair competition with legal carriers and budget losses for honest operators, forcing some to close their businesses and lay off people.
To address these concerns, the proposed innovations discussed with President Lukashenko include the registration of legal carriers and regulating requirements for internet aggregators involved in passenger transportation. The goal is to increase control and organization in the transport sector, ensuring only legally registered carriers operate and that internet platforms aggregating transport services comply with set standards and requirements.
The focus is not solely on recent road incidents but also on addressing disorderly aspects and questions in the sector, ensuring citizen safety, and combating tax evasion and abuses. President Lukashenko emphasized the need for uniform, strict, and transparent rules in the passenger transport sector.
The most common financial violations include concealing revenue, business splitting, cash wages, and tax evasion. The state's primary requirements for this sector are ensuring passenger safety and ensuring the legal operation of carriers. Many unscrupulous entrepreneurs were identified during checks by the Committee of State Control, often operating with no driver's category, experience, or necessary licenses.
In response, the heads of the Interior Ministry and KGB (Kubrakov and Tertel) have been asked to report on the legal operation of carriers by the end of the year so that decisions can be made. The Prime Minister, Roman Alexander, was urged to impose stricter penalties for these violations.
Tens of millions of rubles in budget losses are incurred due to the actions of illicit carriers. The issue of passenger transport includes minibuses operating in cities and between settlements, as well as taxis. The registration of all legal passenger carriers and setting specific requirements for internet aggregators aim to enhance safety, transparency, and reliability in passenger transport.
These innovations, reflecting Belarus’s intention to modernize and tighten control over the transport sector, align with broader regional concerns about security and regulated transport highlighted in neighboring countries such as Latvia. However, no detailed official source explicitly outlining the exact regulatory changes was found in the search results.
- The proposed innovations, such as the registration of legal carriers and the regulation of internet aggregators in passenger transportation, are aimed at increasing control and organization in the industry, addressing issues of safety, transparency, and fair competition in the finance sector, and combating tax evasion.
- In the context of neighboring countries like Latvia, Belarus's initiatives to modernize and tighten control over the transport sector, including the registration of all legal passenger carriers and setting specific requirements for internet aggregators, align with broader regional concerns about security and regulated transport.
