Taxi drivers in some Russian regions hit by gasoline shortages have been cutting back on shifts, the Russian business daily Kommersant reported, citing market participants.
The report did not specify which regions were affected.
Sergey Privalov, a board member of the National Taxi Fleet Association, said drivers have been taking fewer shifts, skipping long routes and trips to city centers out of fear of running out of fuel. Taxi fleet operators put the share of drivers who have recently left the industry at anywhere from 5 to 10% to as high as 20%.
The taxi booking service “Maxim” confirmed that the number of active drivers on the road has been falling in a number of regions. Yandex Taxi, Russia’s largest ride-hailing aggregator, declined to comment.
The drop in driver activity is also showing up in Russian consumer spending data, Kommersant said. According to the Sber Index service, spending on taxis, car-sharing, and car rentals fell 3% in the week of June 22–28, even as overall spending across all goods and services categories rose 7.9%.
Russia’s fuel crisis has been going on for more than a month. A growing number of Russian regions are introducing various restrictions on gasoline sales.
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