On 6 March 2018, the Government approved the Regulations Regarding Commercial Carriage of Passengers on Cars providing for the introduction of a ridesharing regulation in Latvia in accordance with the amendments to the Law On Carriage by Road adopted on 28 September 2017.
The adopted regulation opens up opportunities for the development of a modern and technology-friendly economy, provides for the inclusion of providers of ridesharing services on the joint passenger transport market and helps to arrange the overall passenger transport sector.
Sharing economy has become an essential component of the global economy and has also gained large public support. The demand for various sharing economy services, including ridesharing, continues to grow. The establishment of an appropriate and adapted legal regulation creates a legal framework for new digital solutions such as ridesharing and is a step towards healthy competition in the sector.
The developed ridesharing regulation ensures the provision of a transparent ridesharing service to consumers, service providers and the authorities supervising the market. Fully digitized ridesharing platforms provide the opportunity to trace each transaction by promoting fair tax payments and passenger protection. Ridesharing regulation will boost economic growth by providing flexible job opportunities for additional income.
Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Economics Arvils Ašeradens: “The ridesharing regulation that has been adopted today is the result of more than two years of work of several institutions. It demonstrates Latvia’s willingness to modernise traditional economic forms supporting the development of new technological solutions. Openness to innovative solutions contributes to business expansion, improvement in service quality and contributes to overall economic growth.
Ridesharing platforms not only provide additional income opportunities to economically active population, but also allow for the development of the road transport industry in general. A successfully developed ridesharing regulation, which supports the introduction of innovative technological solutions in the road transport sector, can serve as a stepping stone for the overall development and modernisation of the Latvian economy.”
Public Relations Division
Ministry of Economics
Latvia