A corresponding bill has been submitted for consideration to the State Duma. Deputies emphasized that its necessity is due to the increased number of complaints about delays of ground public transport.
It has been proposed to fine ground public transport carriers for delays. The relevant bill has been submitted to the State Duma. Deputies explain the necessity of this measure by the increased number of complaints from Russian citizens about transport delays, particularly buses in the Moscow region.
According to the document, the fine for officials will be from 3 thousand to 5 thousand rubles, for individual entrepreneurs from 5 thousand to 10 thousand, and from 10 thousand to 30 thousand rubles for legal entities. An exception will be made if the transport is delayed due to reasons beyond its control.
Also, a specific delay time range is provided for each type of ground transport: urban transport should not be delayed by more than 15 minutes, suburban by 30 minutes, intercity and international by one hour and four hours, respectively.
Sergey Matyushenkov, managing partner of the BGMP law firm, comments on the bill:
Sergey Matyushenkov
managing partner at BGMP law firm
The bill, firstly, it`s not certain that it will be adopted in the version it`s proposed. It targets a fairly narrow segment and proposes to fine carriers for delays that occur. I don`t think this is a measure aimed purely at budget replenishment, although, of course, the administrative burden will increase, the state will receive some money from fines, and carrier discipline may improve. How real a problem this truly is, is difficult to say. Currently, passengers have the option to recover and compensate part of the ticket cost in case of delay, but given the low cost of these tickets, if we`re talking about ground transport, there might not be much point in it; people usually don`t bother with this. Hypothetically, one could claim some damages, proving that due to the failure to depart on time, events occurred that caused the person some loss, missed a contract, for example, didn`t manage to do something and thus incurred losses. This is a complex category of disputes, but theoretically, such claims can also be made against a carrier. Some additional fines… well, we can already be fined for many things, and I`m not sure that extra administrative burden is expedient in this case.
The Union of Passengers of Russia supported the bill, stating that public transport delays are a serious problem. They also noted that carriers should be penalized not only with fines but also with compensatory payments.
