Taxi drivers in the East Siberian city of Irkutsk protested on Monday amendments to the law making meters and permits compulsory, traffic police representative Andrei Kabanov said.
Under the amendments, from September 1 all Russian taxi drivers are obliged to obtain a permit to carry passengers. They must also be able to issue receipts to passengers. Taxi drivers failing to comply with the new rules may face a fine from 3,000 to 5,000 rubles (from $107 to $178).
Irkutsk taxi drivers drove slowly through the city in protest at the new rules, which they say will be expensive to implement.
"Some of them have been fined," Kabanov said.
In February, Moscow city authorities called on the capital's unlicensed taxi drivers to legalize their businesses.
Only 9,000 taxi drivers in the Russian capital have licenses to drive a cab, with around another 40,000 working illegally.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin, who identified solving the city's transport problems as a key issue on his agenda, said in mid-January that the authorities planned to clamp down on unlicensed taxis.
However analysts say that it will be hard to rid the city of unlicensed cabs. It is a common practice both in Moscow and the whole Russia to hail a passing car, agree a price, and head off to your destination.
IRKUTSK, May 16 (RIA Novosti)
