The issuance of electronic receipts will expand from the last quarter of this year to another phase. Newly, this obligation will also apply to transport services – including Uber drivers – in the pilot program. The city council is also preparing to hinder the controversial test from the topography, which has provoked criticism from the taxi drivers.
The trial running of revenue records is part of the recently signed memorandum between the state and the alternative taxi service Uber. This primarily addressed the question of how to ensure the continuation of the service in accordance with valid Czech law, including ensuring the exchange of information about the traffic carried out for the needs of the tax administration.
Both points, the introduction of ERRs and the creation of an information channel for fiscal supervision, should be agreed with Uber until the end of June. Definitive negotiations, according to the Treasury, will take place this week. Preliminarily meeting of state representatives and Uber is scheduled for Thursday.
How it is going to charged
There is now a consensus on the technical solution to customize the Uber mobile application for issuing ERR receipts. “It was clear from the outset what the Finance Ministry is asking for and what we can do,” said Miroslav Jozova, a spokesman for Czech Uber. First, after signing the initial memorandum with the Ministry of Transport, Industry and the City of Prague at the end of April, the company adjusted the method of pricing.
In the case of not using the taximeter, it must be negotiated with the customer in advance and must not be changed during the journey. “The system counts the possibility of change, in advance, and it can predict what traffic jams will be on the route. But if the passenger decides he wants to go further or completely elsewhere, then the existing route must be terminated and then the customer has to order another ride,” said Jozová.
However, the obligations of the memorandum must also be fulfilled by the other party. The main administrative problem for the legalization of hundreds of Uber drivers is the lack of free terms in which taxi drivers can take examinations in the Czech Republic from the knowledge of the legislation and the topography. According to representatives of the municipality, however, there is no major problem in the number of terms, but these terms are often unreasonably blocked by people. Each candidate has virtually unlimited attempts.
Drivers fail the tests
“Since May, tests have been done every day, and for July, the tests take place six times a week,” said Prague spokesman Vít Hofman. Up to now, the capacity of the test room has been utilized at 65 percent, but more than half of the candidates fails to succeeded. This, according to the spokesman, means that a lot of drivers come to test without proper preparation and occupy other places.
The study argues the claim for the side-income, most of the Uberu drivers work as full-time basis
Because of this problem, the municipality is preparing to change the rules of the tests and the unsuccessful ones to take part in the next term only after the three-month period. As a matter of law, it is not possible to charge for the exams, so the municipality wants to discourage unprepared candidates in this form.
The city council is also preparing to hinder the controversial test from the topography, which has provoked criticism from the taxi drivers. So far, candidates have been able to use the classic paper map of Prague to verify their knowledge. But this practice should end. According to the City Council, the taxi driver must be prepared to solve the unforeseen traffic situation by choosing an alternative route, that cannot be looked for in the real-world traffic and the state-of-the-art technique.
On the other hand, according to AAA Prague´s Jiří Kvasnička, the examination should mainly check the ability to work with modern navigation.
