Russian taxi service Yandex.Taxi has expanded to Belarus, the company's first international market, the Kommersant newspaper reported Friday, citing Yandex.Taxi's head Tigran Khudaverdyan.
“We have decided to enter the CIS [Commonwealth of Independent States] countries. Minsk is one of the most populated cities in CIS after Moscow and St. Petersburg,” Khudaverdyan was quoted as saying by Kommersant.
According to Khudaverdyan, Yandex.Taxi will not charge drivers commission during the first several months of operating in Belarus.
In Moscow, the cab company pockets 11 percent of cab fares, St. Petersburg's drivers working with Yandex.Taxi are obliged to pay a 9 percent commission.
In the new market Yandex.Taxi will face competition from global taxi service Uber, which began operations in Belarus in November 2015, Kommersant reported, citing Uber's Russia spokeswoman Yevgenia Shipova. According to Shipova, Uber charges its drivers 25 percent commission.
Yandex.Taxi was launched in 2011 and is currently available in 15 Russian cities, including Moscow, St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk and Sochi.
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