The number of taxi services in the city is noticeably shrinking, over the year it fell from 153 to 140, and this trend is likely to continue. Amid the crisis and falling demand, carriers are forced to cut fares, offer discounts, and reduce costs to stay in the market. At the same time, the industry has gained an unexpected plus, due to cuts more people want to work as taxi drivers, so there is no staff shortage now.
At the end of last year, 153 taxi services were operating in the city; today, there are 140 left.This trend will continue, and it is quite natural: in times of crisis, the strongest survive, and small firms find it very difficult to stay afloat.
At the end of autumn and the beginning of winter last year, there was a significant drop in demand for transportation services, affecting both cars and buses.
For example, at LLC "Transport Company Absolut," the number of requests has decreased by 40% since October, at the "Semerochka" taxi service by 50%, and such a situation is practically everywhere. The number of people wanting to use taxi services increases only in severe frosts, so this warm winter is not at all in the carriers' favor.
In order to somehow keep their business going, company managers are taking all kinds of measures. The first priority has been a significant reduction in fares. In some taxi services, the minimum fare for a trip up to 4 kilometers is now 100 rubles; as recently as autumn, the "minimum fare" was 150 rubles. And prices will not rise until the end of the year, and if gasoline continues to get cheaper, they will likely be reduced a little more. Also, in companies, in order to attract new regular customers, discount systems are being developed. They have to save on advertising and cut internal expenses.
But there is also one positive aspect: the crisis has solved the staffing problem. If there were such difficulties before, then due to layoffs many people have wanted to work as taxi drivers, and the services are not experiencing a shortage of personnel.