800 standard taxis to offer services in UB

Mayor of Ulaanbaatar S.Amarsaikhan announced that 800 taxis will be put to service in Ulaanbaatar on June 28.

He met 50 taxi drivers and representatives of taxi companies and reported that taxicabs will be standardized with signs and a unified design.

During the meeting, a driver claimed, “I have been working as a taxi driver for 20 years. There are some problems on issuing professional driver’s license. Previously, there was a rule on issuing the license for drivers who have been driving for more than three years. Officials need to revise the rule stating ‘Only professional drivers are allowed to drive on the first lane of road’. Also, another driver said that even though taxi service is considered as public transportation, they buy vehicles at high interest lease of 70 percent. They want to get freed from special taxes since they are serving in public transportation and others agreed.”

Mayor S.Amarsaikhan said, “Standardized, safe and secure taxi service is a critical issue. There was no way to register taxis since people privately offer taxi services. In some cases, people become victims of a crime while they are being served by taxis. Some of them don’t fulfill the basic requirements of the service. The Mayor’s Office and Ulaanbaatar Development Corporation LLC cooperated for over a year to make this work. We started registering our top taxi companies and conducting 10day courses for new drivers. The course provides knowledge about technical safety, communication skills, routes in Ulaanbaatar, and basic English. Taxis will also provide special services. We are working to allow taxis to go on first lanes of roads.”