Committee might start over with ride-share bill
The Riigikogu’s Economic Affairs Committee is about to continue work on its the ride-share bill. By now, so many proposals to change it have been introduced that the committee’s chairman, MP Aivar Kokk (IRL), considers it likely that they will start from scratch.
Estona’s taxi companies are expecting the bill to do away with the current situation, where they find themselves at a competitive disadvantage compared to ride-share drivers. The ride-share providers, on the other hand, expect it to legally qualify their status without imposing too many limits to their business.
The bill, begun in February 2016, passed its first reading in the Riigikogu in spring last year. In November, several changes were introduced, but complaints remained that it gave ride-share providers preference over the traditional taxi business.
Chairman of the Riigikogu’s Economic Affairs Committee, Aivar Kokk, told ERR on Friday that the parliamentary groups of different parties had also submitted change proposals. The eventual shape of the bill depended on the upcoming debate in committee, but there were enough requests to change it that an entirely new bill was likely, Kokk said.
As reported in the media earlier, the latest version of the bill wanted to get rid of a €16,000 annual turnover limit for ride-share drivers, while at the same time introducing other limits, like demanding that all ride-share drivers have to be either the direct owner or an official user of the vehicle they drive.
Editor: Editor: Dario Cavegn