The government on Thursday submitted a proposal for a law on road transport to the parliamentary procedure under an urgent procedure, which among other things allows for the ordering and payment of taxi transport via an electronic application.
According to the government’s proposal, transport could be ordered through an electronic application, the limitation on the number of taxi licenses would be lifted, and transport providers would determine the prices of services themselves.
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One of the proposed novelties is that transport providers choose the means they will use to charge for rides – a taximeter or an electronic application. At the same time, Uber has not been allowed to register as a special form of transport.
The government estimates that liberalizing the taxi service market will at least double the number of taxi drivers, which is currently around 3,000, a number deemed too low for Croatia as a tourist country. It is expected that the implementation of the new law will reduce taxi service costs.
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Future taxi drivers who do not have valid licenses will have to be at least 21 years old and have a good reputation, which among other things means they will not be able to drive a taxi if they have been legally punished or if they have paid fines exceeding 25,000 kuna in the last two years. Future regulations will also stipulate the age of taxi vehicles, and existing taxi drivers with their licenses can operate for another five years. A new initial qualification for drivers will also be introduced, which will be specific to taxis.
Future taxi drivers will take a theoretical exam, and the obligation of a three-year vocational school will be abolished.
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Another novelty is that local government units will have to issue permits for providing taxi services in their area to all license holders, not just those from their area as before. This means, for example, that someone from continental Croatia will be able to legally taxi on the coast. The price of the permit must not exceed 10 percent of the monthly net salary in the area of the local government unit issuing the permit.
Among other novelties of the new law, unrelated to taxi transport services, the national register of road carriers is being expanded and everything is being digitized, and micro transport is being introduced – public transport on demand in sparsely populated areas. Conditions are also being created for integrated passenger transport, meaning that the law will allow a passenger to travel with one ticket across various types of transport.
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Minister of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure Oleg Butković stated at a government session that the government proposes new legal solutions to adapt to market trends, new forms of transport, and European Union regulations.
He asserted that taxi licenses could become cheaper by as much as 300 percent with the application of the new law and stated that one of the expected results should be increased employment.
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According to Butković, the new legal solution also brings a complete reform of county line transport, ensuring a minimum transport offer, which he said should encourage positive demographic trends.
The minister noted that the proposal for the law has sparked enormous interest during the public consultation, with around 6,000 comments.
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It is crucial for the law to come into force before the start of the main tourist season, and therefore the government proposes an urgent parliamentary procedure, Butković said.
In the justification for the urgent procedure, it is stated, among other things, that at the beginning of the tourist season, when the level of transport demand rises sharply, unresolved issues, as a result of the failure to adopt this law, would continue negative market trends in the transport market, including the operation of passenger transport by personal cars without the necessary licenses and permits, which would deepen negative occurrences in passenger transport.
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Namely, it is stated that through the actions of the competent inspection services and the rulings of the competent misdemeanor courts, it has been established that a large number of individuals and legal entities operating in the market of passenger transport by personal cars have contracts for the use of the Uber application, but are using that application to perform transport illegally, without the necessary licenses and permits.
As the number of illegal transport activities in this regard is increasing, it is necessary to stop and prevent this by establishing an adequate legal framework, which is what this law aims to do, the government states.
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The proposal for the new Law on Road Transport is expected to enable the liberalization of the taxi market and make taxi transport more accessible and cheaper for citizens, and finally provide a legal solution that can respond to the needs of the modern market and the century we live in, the Ministry of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure stated during the public discussion on the proposal for the law, while taxi associations protested and even filed a complaint with the State Attorney’s Office (DORH) against Minister Oleg Butković for abuse of position and authority for not prohibiting the illegal operation of Uber in Croatia in recent times.
