Since September 10, restrictions have been imposed on taxi orders from Heydar Aliyev International Airport to the capital. Now, it is only possible to travel from the airport to the city with "London taxis" or by ordering a taxi through the "Bolt Airport" application.
"We have not yet come across a single justified reason why such a decision was made," said auto and tech blogger, radio host Tural Yusifov (Dj Tural) in an interview with Medianews.az.
In a statement issued by Heydar Aliyev International Airport on September 9, it is stated that one of the primary goals of this decision is to provide high-level service to passengers and ensure their comfort:
"What do they mean by high-level service for passengers? — Tural Yusifov asks. — As a passenger, shouldn’t I be able to choose with what I want to go? Or why is the right of these taxi drivers to carry passengers limited only after they attend a course and become taxpayers?
Creating an artificial taxi shortage and forcing to choose among taxis present at the airport is not a business, gentlemen. You just allocate separate spaces for airport taxis and other taxis. It’s like that everywhere. If I want, I will go with a London taxi, if I want, with Ahmad’s car. You yourself are violating the rule you wrote.
I think there needs to be sincerity. It should be said: "Comrades, we have brought in London taxis. But we cannot manage this business. Our management is weak. We don’t know our target audience, our customers. No CRM, no marketing, zero communication. We just can’t do it. And we don’t want to hire a manager who knows this business because we would look incompetent before the investor. So, we artificially create a need by using administrative powers. We remove the ones offering cheaper prices and find customers for ourselves. We dress this up as 'care for customers.' So what if you use our taxis? You can pay 1000 manat to fly to Tbilisi, but you don’t want to pay 20 manat for our taxi? Should we not make a living?"
In an interview with Medianews.az, Tural Yusifov also listed the problems faced by taxi drivers who are taxpayers and have all the necessary permit documents:
- Not having permission to pick up and drop off passengers (there are few taxi stands, they are inconvenient, and still not digitized. Passengers can order from areas where stopping is prohibited);
- Drivers stopped at taxi stands being fined because their vehicles do not have a "taxi" sign;
- Being pressured by undocumented drivers who say "I have been working as a taxi here since I was born";
- Not being able to pick up passengers from the airport.
Nailə Qasımova,
Medianews.az
