Transporting passengers in vehicles without an official license

Illegal taxi

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Our articles talk about typical ways to solve legal issues, but each case is unique. If you want to find out how to solve your particular problem, please use the online consultant form on the right or call. It's fast and free! Deputies are considering new penalties for illegal taxi drivers. Over the past year, 846 licenses out of 4,687 were revoked. The issuance of new licenses has decreased several times.

I have one friend, Vladimir from Moscow. After work, he has been driving on his own for 5 years, without a license, of course. He says he really likes driving late at night. Few cars, many interesting people to talk to, good extra income.

He consulted with me several times about punishment for such activities. And so, a week ago, he received his first fine for several thousand rubles. Let's figure out what you can be punished for.

Who is checking

Individual entrepreneurs and legal entities of any form of ownership can obtain a license for passenger transportation. Private (individuals) can obtain permission only for transportation by passenger transport (taxi).

Before issuing a license, the Federal Service Administration is obliged to inspect the organization and identify the possibility of obtaining a permit.

An organization that has a license for passenger transportation is obliged to:

• constantly confirm the possibility of carrying out the activity for which the permit has been issued. The department can conduct both scheduled and unscheduled inspections of the company. Scheduled inspections are provided for by law no more often than once every 2 years (Federal Law No. 294 “On the protection of the rights of legal entities and individual entrepreneurs”). Unscheduled inspections are carried out after identifying violations in the field of passenger transportation;
• comply with the rules of passenger transportation established by the charter of railway and road transport or codes on water transportation.

Compliance with transportation rules can be monitored by responsible organizations, for example, in the field of road transport this is the State Traffic Inspectorate, customs authorities, when carrying out international transportation.

If violations are detected, the company may:

• subject to administrative punishment;
• deprived of a license for passenger transportation.

Fine for work

If a repeated violation is detected, it is possible to:

• confiscation of vehicles used for passenger transportation;
• restrictions on the activities of the transport company for a period of 90 days.

It should be noted that this article applies to all types of passenger transportation, that is, transporting passengers in a taxi without a license is punishable by similar penalties.

Tougher penalties are aimed at legalizing transportation and reducing offenses in the field of passenger transportation in order to minimize risks and damage to people's health.

In 2012, new rules were introduced, compliance with which is necessary for the transportation of people by passenger taxis; for violation of the rules, liability is also provided, regulated by Article 11.14.1:

• if in the vehicle interior there is no information on the rules of taxi operation, indicating tariffs, then:
  

  the driver may be fined	1,000 rubles
  to the person in charge	at 10,000 rubles
  per company	30,000 rubles

• similar fines are provided for in situations where the passenger is not given a cash receipt or other document confirming payment for the use of passenger transport services;
• If a vehicle does not have a color scheme or a taxi lamp, then the amount of penalties is:

We invite you to read: Fines for parking on the lawn in 2021

In order to provide services for transporting people and take money for it, you need to follow certain rules. Here is a list of the main things you need to do in 2021 to avoid getting a fine.

• Checkers and special lights must be installed on the car;
• the car must be a certain color;
• a taximeter must be installed;
• Transportation regulations must be posted in the vehicle.

Since the driver provides a service, at the request of the passenger he must issue a check or receipt for payment for the services. If a taxi provides services for transporting children, then child seats must be installed in the car.

Our hero Sergei was fined in full. The law stipulates that the penalty for illegal transportation is 5,000 rubles. But it is also indicated that in different regions these figures may differ from each other.

In Moscow, the penalty is 10,000 rubles.

If identification marks are not installed on the car, you will have to pay another fine of 3,000 rubles.

In addition, in some cases, traffic police officers can remove license plates and send the car to the parking lot.

If the driver is caught for not issuing a receipt, he will have to pay 1,000 rubles.

If a driver illegally installed an identification light on his car or applied a color scheme, his fine will be 5,000 rubles.

Compared to the previous version of the law, the amount of punishment has increased several times.

What to do if caught

A license is required if passenger transportation is carried out:

• water modes of transport;
• by rail;
• aircraft;
• by road, if the bus can accommodate more than 8 passengers and the activity is not aimed at customized transportation or supporting the activities of the company. That is, regular transportation is carried out in urban, suburban or intercity or international traffic;
• passenger taxis.

Transporting passengers without a license under the Code of Administrative Offenses is punishable by a fine, which is imposed:

• on drivers;
• on persons who allowed transportation;
• to organizations performing transportation.

If a repeated violation is detected, in addition to a fine, there is the possibility of confiscation of the vehicle.

If an employee of a regulatory organization has discovered an offense involving the absence of a license when it is necessary to have one, then the driver:

• may agree and sign the protocol on the offense. The result of such an action will be the issuance of a decision on violation of the rules and the imposition of a fine;
• may try to prove that the transportation is carried out outside the scope of the licensing law, that is, the transportation of friends is carried out, for which no fee is charged, or company employees are transported to their place of work.

The driver (representative of the legal entity) will defend his rights in court. The following may be used as evidence:

• statements of passengers who are witnesses;
• documents for ordering a tourist package, holiday cottage, etc.;
• waybill issued by a company employee to the driver indicating the purpose of the trip.

International passenger transportation by minibus is covered in the article:

We suggest you read: Application for a hostel from your place of work

international passenger transportation by minibus

.

Is it allowed to carry children under 1 year of age in a car by hand? Read here.

Procedure for obtaining a document

You can obtain a permit from the relevant transport department. For example, for road transport such an authority is the department of the State Road Supervision. The place of appeal is the territorial division of this service.

Stages of obtaining a license:

1. Collecting a complete package of documents and submitting it to the department.
2. Indication of the type of work to be performed: personal needs or commercial purposes. If you select only one item, you cannot perform another.
3. Payment of the state fee for consideration of the application. It is paid for each application, and not for the number of vehicles specified in the application. The cost of obtaining a permit for all types of cars is 7,500 rubles.
4. The reply is in process. The processing time for papers is 45 working days from the date indicated in the accepted application.
5. Receiving a negative or positive response from the authority.

Refusal to issue a license can be justified for two common reasons:

• provision of knowingly false or unreliable data;
• the applicant’s refusal to comply with all the rules and requirements necessary to obtain a permit.

Transportation of passengers on request without a license

This is not difficult to do. You will need the following documents:

• documents for the car;
• passport;
• copies of these documents.

Take these documents to the Ministry of Transport of your city. Although sometimes this body may be called differently in your city. If everything is in order, then within 30 days you will be issued a license for 5 years. It will contain information about the car, car owner details, date of issue and individual number.

Transportation of people on order is carried out on the basis of a charter agreement, which must be concluded in writing or in the form of a document called an order - work order.

A contract or order - the order must contain:

• name and date of preparation of the document;
• name and details of the charterer (customer of the transportation). If the customer is a private person, then the full name, passport details, registration address and emergency contact phone number are indicated;
• name and details of the freighter (carrier);
• vehicle make and license plate issued upon registration;
• Driver's full name;
• the address and time to which the vehicle must be delivered to begin transportation;
• the name of the final and intermediate points of the route (intermediate points are indicated only if there will be a transport stop with passengers disembarking, for example, for a comfortable overnight stay;
• time of arrival at the final destination of the route;
• the cost charged to the customer for transportation;
• Full name and position of the person who calculated the cost of the order;
• the number of passengers who need to be transported to their destination;
• Full name and position of the person who has the right to certify the transportation.

The charter agreement must be with the driver when providing the service and presented to the employees checking the documents.

When performing custom transportation, the vehicle must be marked with “custom” signs, which are located:

• on or above the windshield;
• on the body on the right side (the side is determined as the vehicle moves);
• on the rear window.

Only those passengers who are indicated in the list provided by the customer of the service are allowed into the transport for transportation.

For non-compliance with the rules of chartered passenger transportation, penalties may be imposed as provided for in Article 11.14.2 of the Administrative Code:

• concluding a charter agreement not in writing will result in a fine:
  

  for the driver	5,000 rubles
  for the person in charge	at 50,000 rubles
  for a company, transportation organizer	200,000 rubles

• failure to provide a contract to employees monitoring compliance with transportation rules is punishable by a fine of 5,000 rubles, which is paid by the driver;
• Charging passengers for fees not provided for in the contract of carriage is punishable by a fine:
  

  for the driver	5,000 rubles
  for the person in charge	50,000 rubles
  For the company	200,000 rubles

• similar fines apply to the admission into a vehicle of persons not listed on the list or who do not have the documents required for transportation.

Obtaining a license for passenger transportation

To obtain a license, you must contact Rostransnadzor - this is the agency responsible for licensing transport activities. You must first pay the state fee and prepare an application in accordance with the established form. It should be noted that the application form differs for individuals and organizations. The application is considered within a period not exceeding 45 days.

To obtain a license, an organization must meet a number of requirements established by law - medical examination of drivers, availability of vehicles suitable for passenger transportation, availability of vehicle permits for road traffic.

If the requirements for organizing and performing passenger transportation are met, the license will be valid indefinitely. In some cases, re-registration may be required:

• the type of transport activity has changed
• the organization changed its legal address, changed its name
• the organizational form of the company has changed

Having a license and strict compliance with the rules of passenger transportation is a guarantee that the driver, organization or responsible persons will not be brought to administrative responsibility. Given the high fines for transporting without a license, it will be much cheaper to prepare for and pass licensing.

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Examples from judicial practice

Since most disputes between carriers and control authorities are resolved in court, many case studies can be cited to prove the factors presented in the article.

Example 1

In the Chelyabinsk region, the driver was transporting a citizen in a car. A traffic police officer argued in court that the driver was a private driver without a license.

We suggest you familiarize yourself with: How to find out from the resolution what the traffic police fine was issued for by the resolution number © Lawyer Hotline

The driver of the car managed to prove that the passenger he was transporting did not pay the fare, which was taken into account by the judge.

Based on the testimony of the passenger and the lack of evidence from the traffic police representative, a decision was made in favor of the driver. The fine imposed by the regulatory authority has been cancelled.

Example 2

In Tula, employees of the regulatory organization conducted a raid to identify illegal private taxis.

To do this, the organization’s employees carried out a so-called “test purchase”, that is, a taxi was called by one of the dispatch service telephones or the car was stopped on the street.

After the driver collected the fare, the employees checked the documents. During the operation, more than 30 illegal taxi drivers were identified. All drivers were fined, which the court found to be justified.

Obtaining a license is the first step to engaging in business activities related to passenger transportation.

Sanctions for illegal carriers are constantly being tightened, which leads to a reduction in accidents.

The requirements for transporting groups of children by bus are outlined in the article:

transporting groups of children by bus

.

For information on passenger transportation by Russian Railways, see the page.

Find out how to draw up a contract for the carriage of passengers and luggage from the information.

Licensing of bus transportation

The first important change was made to Article 12 of the Law “On Licensing of Certain Types of Activities”:

1. In accordance with this Federal Law, the following types of activities are subject to licensing: ... 24) activities for the transportation of passengers by road transport equipped for the transport of more than eight people (except for the case if the specified activity is carried out on orders or to meet the own needs of a legal entity or individual entrepreneur) ;

1. In accordance with this Federal Law, the following types of activities are subject to licensing: ... 24) activities for the transportation of passengers and other persons by buses. For the purposes of this Federal Law, licensing is not carried out in relation to transportation performed by buses of the fire department, ambulance, police, emergency services, military automobile inspection, federal executive body in the field of security, federal executive body in the field of state security, Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, troops of the National Guard of the Russian Federation, investigative bodies of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, as well as in relation to transportation carried out by buses without the use of public roads;

Until March 1, 2021, a license is not required in the following cases:

• transportation of passengers according to orders;
• transportation for the organization’s own needs.

Starting March 1, 2021, the list of exceptions looks different:

• buses: fire department,
• ambulance,
• police,
• emergency services,
• military automobile inspection,
• federal executive body in the field of security,
• federal executive body in the field of state security,
• Armed Forces of the Russian Federation,
• troops of the National Guard of the Russian Federation,
• investigative bodies of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation,

That is, licensing is not required only for public service buses, as well as for transportation within the territories of enterprises (for example, in large factories or quarries).

In all other cases, licensing is required .

For example, if an organization’s service bus collects workers around the city and brings them to their place of work, then from March 1, 2021, such a bus requires a license.

One more example. A sightseeing bus that carries out trips on request or is used for organized transportation of children. From March 1, it also requires a license.

Third example. A school bus that collects children from rural areas and brings them to their place of study. A license is needed for it too.

In general, if your organization has a bus, then you should obtain a license for it (except for the exceptions presented in the list above). This includes small minibuses with 8 or more passenger seats. Please consider this issue carefully.

Note. If a car, which according to documents is a bus, is not used to transport people, that is, the driver rides in it alone, then a license is not required.

Deadline for obtaining a license

As for the period for obtaining a license, in accordance with Article 6 of the Federal Law “On amendments to certain legislative acts of the Russian Federation in terms of improving the licensing of activities for the transportation of passengers and other persons by buses,” 120 days are allotted for the execution of the document. Those. the license must be obtained by June 29, 2021 .

As for organizations that did not carry out passenger transportation activities before March 1, 2021, they must obtain a license before commencing transportation.

Mandatory requirements

To work as a taxi driver and get a license, you must meet certain conditions. Your driving experience must be at least 5 years. The vehicle must be marked with distinctive markings.

You also need to install a taximeter and checkers. License costs may vary in different regions. In most regions this amount is 5,000 rubles. In Moscow it can reach 10,000 rubles.

Remember also that in the near future fines may be increased by 6 times. The State Duma proposes a fine of 30 thousand rubles for transporting passengers without a license.

Is it possible to avoid responsibility?

You can avoid liability for transporting passengers without a license in three cases:

• the vehicle contains no more than eight seats for passengers (based on PTS data);
• the purpose of transportation is not commercial, but personal or organizational (for example, delivery of company employees);
• delivery of passengers to their destination is carried out under the charter agreement.

All listed exception conditions apply only to road transport. In the case of rail, water or air transport, a license is required in all cases.

What to do if a document is missing during verification?

If transportation is carried out on any type of transport without a license and there are no valid reasons for its absence (they are listed in the paragraph above), then a legal entity or individual entrepreneur will inevitably have to bear responsibility. In this case, you must pay a fine (its amount is established by law), and in some cases, compensate for the costs associated with the confiscation of the car.

From the passenger’s point of view, if a carrier is identified without a license, it is worth refusing to use its services and immediately reporting the offense to the regional division of the agency that supervises the transport sector.