Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 12 September, an official taxi service, selected through open bidding on the E-auksion.uz platform, began its work at the Tashkent International Airport. The winner was the company "Bobur Diyor", which meets all the requirements stated in the terms of reference.

New branded cars "Taxi Airport Tashkent", running only on gasoline, with a large roomy trunk, now stand right at the exit from the arrivals terminal. The passenger has the opportunity to pay for a taxi in cash (in national currency) or non-cash (UzCard, Humo, Visa, Mastercard, MIR cards). If the passenger does not want to use the services of an official taxi, he can call any other taxi to the road or to the parking lot, where the first 10 minutes are absolutely free especially for the arrival of a taxi. In addition, for the convenience of passengers and drivers, a large luminous sign will appear along the road in the coming days, indicating that there is a meeting point for a taxi and a passenger. There are no restrictions in the departure terminal. More than a year ago, free entry to the flyover was opened for taxis, cars and tourist buses. Also at the disposal of passengers seeing off and meeting three reconstructed car parks, where you can leave the car for a few hours or several days.

“The problem with taxi drivers at airports existed and still exists in many countries of the world. Overpriced, rude drivers, old cars, usually running on gas, which is strictly prohibited at the airport. These are unregistered taxi drivers that grab passengers by the hands, deceive and behave in a boorish way.

We cannot allow such cars to drive directly to the steps of the arrivals terminal. This is not just a negative image of the country, it is a threat to the safety of passengers. The only solution to the problem is to switch to the official taxi service - this is world practice. At the same time, it is important to understand that an official airport taxi cannot cost as much as a taxi in the city, because at least it runs on gasoline, provides high service and serves only the airport. But at the same time, we do not limit passengers in their choice. Literally after 100 meters it will be possible to take any other taxi,” said Rano Juraeva, Chairman of the Board of Uzbekistan Airports.

Over time, as passenger traffic grows, there will certainly be a need to choose one more, and maybe several companies providing taxi services. At the same time, the requirements for the taxi service officially operating at the airport will always be strict, taking into account both the level of security and the level of service.

“As for unregistered taxi drivers, then of course, this issue will not be resolved in one day. Some media, probably, nevertheless hurried with the headlines that the unregistered taxi drivers was no longer at the Tashkent airport. Unfortunately, they are and will be for some time. But we intend to fight them to the end, not only in Tashkent, but also in the regions. It is important that now we have the support of law enforcement agencies. The airport alone cannot cope with this problem,” added the head of the management company.

Over the past three days, there have been several provocations by the unregistered taxi drivers. On 12 September, one of the taxi drivers hit a security guard for refusing to let him into the airport. On 14 September, taxi drivers blocked the entrance to the terminal to the cars of the official taxi service, demanding from the airport management to make free parking for them or let them into the forecourt in order to continue their activities. Airport employees were adamant on this issue, called law enforcement agencies and wrote a statement on the application of measures against taxi drivers and ensuring public order at the forecourt of the Tashkent airport.