Russian State Duma adopts law requiring taxi drivers to provide ride records to law enforcement

The Russian State Duma passed a new law regulating the work of taxi drivers on Thursday. The new legislation requires drivers and the companies that employ them to store information on all rides they’ve completed for up to six months, and to provide the information to law enforcement upon request.

Presumably, under the new law, drivers will be required to keep their own logs of their past rides, while taxi and rideshare companies will have to give authorities direct access to their internal databases.

In addition, the legislation requires rideshare companies to open offices in all regions where they operate and to sign contracts with self-employed drivers. When car accidents involving self-employed drivers occur, the companies will now be responsible for paying compensation to injured passengers if drivers are unable.

The law also bans people with past convictions for violent crimes and people who have recently had their license suspended from driving taxis.