Transporting your employees on buses? Get a license

In March 2021, amendments affecting passenger transportation came into force. One of the federal innovations is the need for licensing when using buses that have more than 8 seats. The procedure for obtaining a special license does not take much time, but it does require going through certain stages and collecting all the necessary documents.

Obtaining permits is required for independent transportation of a group of people or for commercial activities.

Why were such amendments needed?

In accordance with Federal Law No. 99-FZ dated 04.05.2011, activities for the regular transportation of passengers by road transport equipped for the transport of more than eight people are subject to licensing.
However, Federal Law No. 294-FZ of December 26, 2008, before the introduction of amendments, established that if transportation was carried out by order, then a license was not required, and the start of business activity was of a notification nature. This was taken advantage of by carriers who, in order to avoid fulfilling the licensing requirements provided for by the Licensing Regulations, carried out, in fact, regular transportation under the guise of registered ones.

At the same time, the established rules of passenger transportation and the requirements for ensuring the safety of passengers were ignored - regular technical inspection of the vehicle and medical examination of the driver were not carried out, waybills and charter agreements were not drawn up. Identifying such carriers and drawing up appropriate protocols on administrative offenses also caused serious difficulties: to carry out an inspection, the simultaneous participation of representatives of the traffic police and Rostransnadzor is required.

As a result, the number of accidents in the transport of passengers by road has sharply increased, many of which resulted in death and serious damage to the health of citizens.

The amendments were adopted with the aim of regulating the mechanism for checking carriers, eliminating loopholes for unscrupulous market representatives and, ultimately, improving road safety.

When do you need a Rostransnadzor license to transport passengers?

A license to transport passengers is a document that is issued to both individuals and legal entities. It gives the right to use buses and other vehicles with more than 8 seats in their activities. The corresponding document is necessary for large and small companies. Paper will be needed for domestic and international shipments. The presence of a license confirms the following aspects:

• The company is able to ensure the safety of passengers;
• The carrier does not violate the law;
• The organization employs employees with sufficient experience and qualifications.

If the number of seats for passengers in a vehicle is less than 8, a corresponding permit is not required. Car rental organizations deserve special attention. A permit will be required if the vehicle is provided with a driver. When only a car is transferred to a citizen, there is no need to license the activity.

How to add an additional bus to a license?

If an organization has purchased an additional bus, then before it starts operating, it should be included in the license register. To do this, you need to submit the following documents to Rostransnadzor:

• statement;
• a copy of the bus registration certificate;
• a copy of the document confirming the basis of ownership of the bus (lease agreement), if the bus belongs to another person.

The application shall indicate the following information:

• name of the licensee;
• TIN number;
• license number and date of issue;
• bus number (registration plate);
• method of sending a response to include the bus in the register (by mail, in person).

The term for inclusion of an additional bus is 3 working days from the date of receipt of documents.

Requirements when using a license

Above is a list of documents that will be required to obtain a license. Nothing additional should be required from the organization at this stage.

However, during the operation of buses, additional requirements listed in paragraph 8 of the Licensing Regulations must also be observed:

• Use only buses owned by the licensee.
• Carry out activities to ensure road safety.
• For commercial transportation, use compulsory passenger insurance contracts.
• Fill out travel forms.
• Conduct pre-shift or pre-trip inspection of technical condition.
• Use tachographs.
• Use GLONASS or GLONASS/GPS satellite navigation.
• Carry out maintenance of buses within the time limits specified by the manufacturer.
• Provide buses with parking spaces between trips.
• Transfer information about passengers and bus personnel to a centralized database (when carrying out international transportation or transportation between different regions of the Russian Federation).
• Allow only drivers who have an employment contract and a category D driving license to work. This point is discussed in more detail below.
• Observe the work and rest schedule of drivers.
• Instruct the driver, plan measures to prevent accidents, analyze accidents, record and store requests for violations of traffic rules by drivers.
• Conduct driver training.
• Conduct pre-trip (post-trip) medical examinations of drivers.

Let's take a closer look at subparagraph i, which contains requirements for drivers:

i) allow drivers who have an employment relationship with the licensee in accordance with the Labor Code of the Russian Federation and who have a Russian national driver’s license for the right to drive category “D” cars or a foreign driver’s license for the right to drive category “D” cars to drive the licensee’s buses - for drivers who are citizens of the Kyrgyz Republic, as well as citizens of states whose legislation establishes the use of Russian as the official language, and in the case of organized transportation of a group of children - drivers who also meet the requirements of the rules for the organized transportation of a group of children by buses established by the Government of the Russian Federation in in accordance with Article 20 of the Federal Law “On Road Safety”;

Please note that this clause allows drivers to be allowed to drive only in two cases:

• Citizens of the Russian Federation and other countries with Russian national rights.
• Citizens of Kyrgyzstan and countries where Russian is the official language, with international rights.

All other drivers should not be allowed to drive buses.

Until December 31, 2021, this paragraph was formulated differently, and it turned out that citizens of other countries with Russian national rights were not allowed to drive buses.

For example, a citizen of Belarus lives and works in Russia. In Russia, he passed the exams and received a category D driver's license. However, he could not work as a bus driver until December 31, 2020.

The requirement was rather strange; it conflicted with the requirements given in the Law “On Road Safety” and discussed in this article. From January 1, 2021, citizens of any state with Russian national rights can work as bus drivers.

Requirements for the applicant

How to get a taxi license? As can be seen from the above, it is issued only to legal entities, so its availability is the first mandatory requirement for the applicant. To obtain a taxi license, an individual entrepreneur (or organization) must own (or lease) at least one vehicle, which will be used to transport passengers.

In addition, the organization or individual entrepreneur must:

• have a premises in which maintenance and, if necessary, car repairs can be carried out (or simply have an agreement with any auto repair shop that provides services of this kind);
• have the ability to check the technical condition of cars before they go on line (for an individual entrepreneur with one car this is a formality - it is clear that he himself will be responsible for this check, but for large organizations this requirement implies the presence of specialists);
• be able to carry out a medical examination of the taxi driver or drivers (again, this means either having a medical professional on staff or having an agreement with a private clinic or other medical organization).

The applicant's car (or cars) must fully meet the requirements specified in the same Federal Law No. 69.

These include:

• undergoing regular technical inspection (every six months);
• the presence of a color graphic scheme on the side surfaces of the car body: squares of contrasting colors, arranged in a checkerboard pattern;
• the presence of an orange identification lamp, which must be mounted on the roof of the car;
• the presence of a taximeter (in Moscow, in addition to a taximeter, cars should be additionally equipped with a GLONASS sensor);
• uniform color scheme. However, this clause entirely depends on the requirements of regional legislation - if it is not provided for by the law of a specific subject of the Russian Federation, then it is not mandatory for execution. For example, since July 1, 2013, in the capital, taxi permits are issued exclusively to yellow cars.

The law imposes length of service requirements on taxi drivers. Each representative of this profession must have at least 3 years of driving experience (documented) or a total driving experience of more than 5 years.

Where can I get a license to transport passengers by bus?

Rostransnadzor is responsible for issuing licenses for transporting passengers of more than 8 people. If we are talking about regions, the corresponding function is assigned to the departments of the State Traffic Safety Inspectorate. Review of the application takes about one and a half months. The license is granted for 5 years. If the expiration date is approaching, you will need to complete the renewal process. We advise you to start doing this at least a month before the permit expires. The permit for the carriage of passengers can be extended for the same period for which it was originally issued.

Price

First of all, you need to prepare a set of papers. The cost of preparation will depend on the availability of the necessary documents. In addition, a state duty of 7,500 rubles is paid. If the applicant reissues the permit, then the payment is 3,500 rubles for additions to the document, as well as 750 rubles for other situations.
In some cases, the services of an intermediary are used, which helps to significantly speed up the process. In this case, in addition to basic expenses, you will need to pay for a set of services. The amount can vary from 20,000 to 40,000 rubles.

List of documents for obtaining a license

To obtain a license, the following documents are required (clause 6 of the Licensing Regulations):

• statement;
• a copy of the order appointing someone responsible for ensuring road safety;
• a copy of the agreement on medical examinations of drivers;
• copies of registration certificates of all buses that must be included in the license;
• if the buses are not the property of the organization, then copies of documents confirming the basis of ownership (lease agreement, etc.) are required.
• list of documents.

All listed documents should be sent to Rostransnadzor electronically, submitted in person, through the MFC, or sent by registered mail with acknowledgment of receipt.

Note. In 2021, bus categorization documents are not required to obtain a license.

How to exclude a bus from the register?

Removing a bus from the register may be necessary if it is sold. Unless the current owner removes the bus from the registry, the buyer will not be able to add the bus to their license.

To exclude a bus from a license, you only need an application containing the same data.

• name of the licensee;
• TIN number;
• license number and date of issue;
• bus number (registration plate);
• method of sending a response to include the bus in the register (by mail, in person).

The bus is removed from the register within 3 working days from the date of receipt of the application.