Taxi transport in Valga municipality is regulated by the Public Transport Act, the Road Transport Act, the establishment of professional qualification requirements for drivers, the rules on professional training, the curricula for training courses and the form of the training certificate, the requirements concerning the technical condition and equipment of motor vehicles and their trailers, the conditions and procedures for medical examinations of drivers and applicants for driving licences, and the forms of medical certificates and medical requirements.
According to the Public Transport Act, there are two ways of providing taxi services:
- traditional taxi services (regular taxis), where the fare is calculated by means of a taximeter and the taxi must be equipped with the legal taxi signs, which are a taximeter, printer, placard, fare sign and trademark on the taxi;
- platform-based taxi services (platform taxis), which require that the ordering of the taxi and the calculation of the fare must be done via an information society service and that the vehicle does not need to have any other mandatory taxi identifiers.
For both types of taxi, the taxi transport operator, i.e. the driver, must hold a taxi licence, the driver a service card and the vehicle a vehicle registration card.
The documents issued by Valga Municipality certifying the right to taxi transport are:
- Taxi permit
- Vehicle card
- Service card
Applying for a taxi licence, vehicle card and service card
Application for a taxi licence, a vehicle card and a service card is done through the electronic environment of the register of economic activities. The application may also be submitted to the municipality in paper form (to Puiestee 8, Valga) or by e-mail: valga@valga.ee. A taxi permit and a vehicle registration card will not be issued on paper. The data will be published in the register of economic activities. The service card is issued to regular taxi drivers in paper form and the data are also published in the register of economic activities.
Before applying for a taxi licence, a vehicle card or a service card, the applicant must pay a state fee. The name of the act for which the fee is to be paid must be indicated in the explanation. If the fee is paid on behalf of another person, the name of that person must also be indicated.
The fee for processing an application for a taxi permit is €64.
The state fee for issuing a taxi card is €20.
The fee for processing an application for a service provider card is €38.
A taxi licence and a vehicle registration card are issued for an unlimited period, unless the applicant requests a fixed period. A service card shall be issued for an unlimited period unless the applicant requests it for a fixed period. The vehicle used as a taxi must have undergone a taxi roadworthiness test.
Taxi permit
To apply for a taxi licence an application must be submitted to the municipality with the applicant's contact details, including telephone number, e-mail address and postal address. In the case of an applicant who is a legal person, the name and registration code, in the case of a legal person in the process of being established, instead of the registration code, the document certifying the establishment of the legal person, in particular the deed of incorporation or the founding resolution or a notarised copy of at least one of them, in the case of a self-employed person, the name and registration code.
Taxi fare card
To apply for a taxi card an application must be submitted to the municipality with the applicant's contact details, including telephone number, e-mail address and postal address. Also, the contract for the use of the vehicle, if the applicant is not the owner or user of the vehicle on the basis of the vehicle registration certificate. In addition, a taxicab adaptation certificate must be submitted if the vehicle is to be used for taxi transport, the ordering and pricing of which is carried out without the use of an information society service.
Service card
To apply for a Service Card an application must be submitted to the municipality with the applicant's contact details, including telephone number, e-mail address and postal address, and driving licence if it is not entered in the Estonian driving register. The application must be accompanied by a copy of the application form established on the basis of § 15(7) of the Identity Documents Act a compliant photo (You do not need to submit a photo if you have used a photobox at the ARK to obtain your driving licence). Persons holding a primary or restricted driving licence as referred to in § 96(1) of the Road Traffic Act are not entitled to a service card.