Fear of mobilization: the number of taxi drivers in Kyiv has decreased

In Kyiv, the number of taxi drivers has significantly decreased, leading to longer wait times for taxis, even during non-peak hours, compared to a year ago.

According to taxi drivers themselves, many are hesitant to operate in the city due to recent mobilization measures intensified in the capital.

“I monitor all these public pages. I see there are checkpoints here and there; then I either don’t go out or don’t take orders in that area. But generally, if there’s information that representatives of the territorial recruitment center have become active, I won’t even go, even for a lot of money. I’d rather wait and then earn,” said one of the taxi drivers in the capital.

Additionally, the reduction in the number of taxis on the roads is linked to the departure of foreign citizens who previously worked in the taxi industry.

“Yes, many have left, either to their homeland or to another country. I work in two taxi services simultaneously; in one of them, only ‘Mahmuds’ used to work, and now they are practically non-existent. Currently, even our locals are working less, let alone foreigners,” another taxi driver told journalists.

Andriy Antoniuk, the head of the Ukrainian Taxi Association, also confirmed that the number of drivers in the taxi industry has decreased.

“Many of the drivers went to serve; for some, it’s only temporary work. The market for cars is worsening, and so on. It’s challenging to work everywhere in these conditions, including in our industry,” Antoniuk said.

According to him, as of today, there haven’t been many complaints from taxi drivers about frequent checks by the territorial recruitment center. However, he noted that anyone, including taxi drivers, could receive a summons today.

“Analyzing the market in this regard is quite difficult because it is 99% illegal. Such drivers operate somewhere on their own; they can work or leave at any moment. However, anyone, including taxi drivers, can receive a summons today. Checking drivers is the right of the territorial recruitment center. The nonsense is that at the beginning of the full-scale war in Kyiv, many people tried to join the army, and they weren’t taken, and today many are serving. But it’s such a time: they can hand you a summons even if you’re just walking down the street,” Antoniuk emphasized.

Moreover, he mentioned that up to 10% of drivers who worked legally and were registered as entrepreneurs have already been mobilized.

“The taxi market and legality are two different things. However, it’s easier to track trends among drivers registered as entrepreneurs because they are in the registry. On average, up to 10% of the total number of such drivers are now mobilized,” Antoniuk concluded.