On Thursday, parliamentarians adopted amendments to the Road Transport Code providing for new restrictions and obligations: 127 members of the Seimas voted for it, one was against, and no one abstained.
Conservative Jurgis Razma claimed that the changes were expected by people who wanted to receive quality services and by taxi and delivery drivers who wanted to work transparently.
“When drivers from third countries flocked to the market, the situation did not look good,” he said at the Seimas meeting.
Mr. Razma also emphasized that the amendments will no longer allow drivers to drive taxis with plafonds.
At that time, the “peasant” Valius Ėuolas explained that the problem of couriers is much bigger than cosmetic fixes, because the problem of paying taxes is not being solved.
The amendments provide that from next year in Lithuania, only those drivers who have a valid license issued in a European Union, European Economic Area or NATO country, Switzerland or Ukraine will be able to provide taxi and shuttle services.
This change is relevant for many drivers, because according to the Lithuanian Transport Safety Administration, about one-fifth of drivers in Lithuania now drive with third-party driver’s licenses.
Taxi drivers will have to use a taximeter connected to a printer or a taximeter and cash register.
The Seimas also established more requirements for drivers who want to become taxi drivers or transporters, the duties of passenger transport organizers, rideshares, taxi drivers, dispatching companies and companies are established.
