Licensing of bus transportation

A bill that revives licensing of bus transportation was passed by the State Duma and approved by the Federation Council.

Licensing is not applied to bus transportation of such special services as fire protection service, emergency medical care, emergency rescue service, law enforcement authorities, security ministries, etc. Resumption of licensing of this activity will come into legal force 120 days after the official publication of the law.

The provision concerning cancellation of scheduled inspections of motor transport operators and city electric road transport operators by specialized regulatory authorities with regard to licensed activities is to come into effect at the same time. Whereas there is a possibility of scheduled inspection of passenger transportation facilities (e.g. bus stations) based on the orders of the heads of state supervision bodies.

Moreover, the bill provides for compulsory equipping with tachographs the vehicles of a gross weight over 3.5 tons and over 8 passenger seats. This provision will come into effect 12 months after its official publication.

According to the Information and Analytical system Globas there are about 13,000 active bus transportation operators in Russia. A subscription to the system will provide you with information about them and their business activity.