Relief for Uber, Bolt and the thousands of clients who use the alternative transport market.
President Klaus Iohannis on Thursday signed off on a bill that gives drivers an extra three months to comply with new regulations.
New rules regulating ridesharing in Romania went into effect on Nov. 1, upending the growing alternative transport market and leaving thousands of drivers unable to work without the necessary papers for several days.
Uber recently reported that only half of its drivers had managed to obtain the permit.
The new rules for ridesharing applications require drivers to have a technical permit from the communications ministry and an operating license from the Romanian Road Authority.
Failing that, they risk fines up to 9,000 lei or 1,900 euros and losing their car license plates for six months.
Parliament’s chamber of deputies adopted an amendment to the Alternative Transport Bill on Oct. 22 which gave drivers an extra three months to comply with the regulation. Initially, it wasn’t sent to the president who needs to sign off on legislation.
Uber and other companies which appeared on the market in recent years face fierce opposition from taxi drivers.
Romania has an estimated 20,000 drivers registered on ridesharing platforms. Taxi drivers staged months of protests against Uber saying the drivers weren’t regulated and represented unfair competition.
The Coalition for Digital Economy reports that ride-sharing services bring direct and indirect benefits of more than 1 billion lei (210 million euros) annually.
