Baku streets to be deprived of private taxis?

Azerbaijani Transport Ministry intends to limit the number of private taxis on Baku’s streets, the Transport Ministry’s Azernagliyatservis Department Head Rauf Orujov said on Thursday.

He said that this process will be realized in the future, and that for this purpose amendments and additions to the legislation will be necessary.

Also, he said that in the next few days a call-center will be created that will enable Baku residents to order the new recently imported taxis.

There are presently 80 new taxis operating on the streets of Baku, with a 20 unit increase expected by later this week. By the end of 2011 an additional 900 new taxis will be imported to Baku.

Orujov also stressed the competitive price of the new taxis, as there is a fixed rate for the use of their services.

Earlier, Azerbaijan received the first batch of purple London Taxi TX4s as part of the contract. The contract was signed with the manufacturer for the delivery of 1,000 cars.
A new private company was established called Baku Taxi Company to develop a program launched by the Transport Ministry.

The company has set a tariff for the use of new taxis, which is as follows: a one manat initial minimum charge and 0.7 manat for every subsequent kilometer.

The supply agreement of the Shanghai LTI Company, a joint venture between Manganese Bronze Holdings and Chinese Geely Automobile Holdings Limited, is the largest contract for London's company. The total cost is about $27 million.

The Transport Ministry said earlier that it plans to deliver 3,000 new taxis.

In general, 7,000-8,000 cars from different manufacturers are planned for delivery to provide taxis to Baku and various regions of Azerbaijan.


/Trend/