Cossack Taxis will hit Moscow's roads this autumn, and their drivers will be some of the most attentive and courteous in town, a news report said Wednesday.
The taxis will look like regular taxis with canary yellow paint and checkers on the roof. As a distinctive feature, they will have the Cossack society's emblem and the inscription "Cossack Taxi" on the sides, Izvestia reported. All taxis will be equipped with navigation systems.
Drivers will wear the traditional blue uniforms with trouser stripes to make them look genuinely Cossack. They will have at least five years of driving experience and will be polite with clients, according to Evgeny Menshikov, the Cossack society's deputy for Moscow's southeast district.
But in addition to their regular duties the drivers will be on a lookout for traffic violations and will report them either to police or a nearest Cossack patrol, he said.
Cossacks plan to invest 5 million rubles ($158,000) in the enterprise to lease 10 cars, according to Menshikov. They expect to make a return on the money in two years' time. Menshikov said he hoped that the taxi firm will be eligible for a subsidy from the state taxi company support program.
Moscow already has several specialized taxi services, catering specifically for Orthodox Christians, Muslims, and sexual minorities respectively.
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