The message reads, in part:
“I would like to welcome participants, organisers, and guests to the 1st National Conference of Taxi Drivers, which is held under the auspices of the Russian Popular Front.
I think this conference is an important and timely initiative, a practical step towards the consolidation of the professional community in order to resolve the problems the industry currently faces. The taxi service has a particular status in our country. It is not only a visiting card, an indispensable part of life in metropolitan centres and large cities. Taxis also have a crucial function for state and society alike: they enable population mobility and offer considerable added-value to the transport infrastructure in cities and rural areas. The development of this mode of transport to a great extent determines how comfortable and effective public transit is, whether for recreation and tourism or business trips.
I am confident that your conference will become a sound platform for constructive dialogue and the active exchange of views. The recommendations and proposals you put forward will be scrutinised in great detail by federal and regional authorities. They will feed in to government work to improve the sector’s regulatory and organisational framework, and contribute to the creation of a civilised taxi services market, in which security and high service quality are paramount.