UBER and Bolt, or rather the drivers who work for these platforms, have been left as of today without the minimum legal protection they had before the policemen who implement the legislation regarding the transport of people. Until now, the drivers of the UBER and Bolt applications could not be fined for the first offense if they were stopped in traffic by the police and it was discovered that they were transporting people without having licenses in this sense, because it could not be proven that they were doing this "in repeatedly".
The drivers from UBER and Bolt are now left without this "protection", because the police officers no longer have to prove the fact that the drivers transport people "repeatedly", the sanctions can be applied from the first offense. According to the emergency ordinance, the police can impose fines of up to 50.000 LEI on UBER and Bolt drivers, confiscate their car license plates, and keep their driving license for a period of 6 months.
UBER, Bolt have become "ILLEGAL", Drivers have BIG PROBLEMS
UBER and Bolt have drivers exposed to the sanctions of the authorities starting today, and whoever "goes out on the route" and is stopped by the police, is liable to any of the sanctions mentioned above. This will have the effect of a decrease in the number of cars that are available on the UBER and Bolt platforms, which for now "translates" through an increase in the dynamic rates in the applications, and this will not change soon.
UBER and Bolt drivers risk penalties much higher than the money they make every day through the application, and after confiscation of the plates they can no longer generate income with which to pay their fines. The big problem is that taxi drivers order rides to take UBER and Bolt drivers directly to the police, and this is how the car platform is "cleaned", which will force people to return to taxi drivers, or maybe not.
UBER and Bolt have promises from the Romanian Government that a new emergency ordinance will be issued to regulate their activity, but of course no one can trust what the governors say.
UPDATED: Here is what the people from Bolt had to say about the situation.
You have most likely heard about the change in the taximeter law, which came into force today. We want to assure you that Bolt activity continues in Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca and Timișoara. We also offer driver partners financial and legal support. By choosing to travel with us, you are showing your support for new legislation that will allow passengers to enjoy modern, affordable and reliable urban transport.