A number of local taxi services announced they were raising prices; owner drivers followed suit.

‘It’s true that taxis have grown pricier lately, mainly due to the winter season and lots of traffic jams in Yekaterinburg. It’s a bit early to speak of an increase in the fuel prices yet, but they do tend to go up. We had to raise our fares by 5-7% about a week ago,’ acting director of Taxi Troika Ltd Sergey Istomin said to UrBC.

‘Our reasons for doing so had to do with the lack of financial motivation on the drivers’ part. Given the time they waste in the traffic jams, they lose a lot of money since their pay depends on the amount of kilometers rather than minutes,’ he added.

‘We raised prices by 10% about a month ago due to fuel growing more expensive,’ Nicole Ltd CEO Sergey Stepanov said. He believes this trend is here to stay; their next price increase in expected around New Year holidays.

‘Our prices have remained stable since 2006 despite the rising fuel prices; fares could only go up due to seasonal factors,’ Director of Profavtotrans Ltd Larisa Dyupina noted.