The Ministry of Transport (TM) is organising today a public debate on a draft government emergency ordinance on ridesharing.
According to a TM announcement, the agenda of the meeting will include the presentation of the draft pieces of legislation along with the presentation and debate of observations and proposals regarding the draft.
The draft government emergency ordinance on ridesharing was published on the website of the Ministry of Transport on May 23, 2019.
As part of the public consultation process, stakeholders were given 12 days to submit proposals / comments on the draft.
On May 23, MT published the draft emergency government ordinance on the regulation of ridesharing activity. According to the document, the ridesharing applications must be authorised by the Ministry of Communications and Information Society (MCSI), with the authorisation becoming valid after the operator has paid a license fee of 50,000 lei.
Ridesharing may be provided only by operators of the relevant licensed digital platform.
Ridesharing providers will have to get a ridesharing licence from the Romanian Road Traffic Authority (ARR) agency in the county or city of Bucharest, according to domicile or residence, as the case may be. Ridesharing licences would be issued within 15 working days for a period of 3 years after the payment by the ridesharing operator of a fee of 300 lei. Such licences are non-transferable.
Vehicles used for ridesharing have to meet the following conditions: they have a maximum of five seats, including the driver's seat; undergo a regular technical inspection (ITP) every 6 months; at the time of the ride must comply with technical regulations on road safety, environmental protection and use as intended; their drivers have an authorised copy of the ridesharing licence.
The drivers providing ridesharing must cumulatively fulfill several conditions, including being at least 21 years of age, and owning a certificate of professional attestation for the transport of persons on hire issued by the ARR and having held a category B driving licence for at least two years.
Recently, the Coalition for a Digital Economy (ACED) filed with the Government a #continuam petition backed by more than 400,000 signatures in support of ridesharing.
Data with ACED show that ridesharing annually brings direct and indirect benefits of over one billion lei a year, while offering a job to more than 20,000 partner drivers.
AGERPRES