The Moscow City Transportation Department has announced plans to introduce new safety requirements for taxis operating in the city.
The new requirements will include mandatory airbags, specifying the vehicle's active and passive safety features and prohibiting the use of vehicles that are more than five to seven years old, Interfax reported.
In addition, training courses and tests for taxi drivers should be organized, deputy transportation chief Dmitry Pronin told a press conference.
"Today, there is no program of courses and mandatory tests for drivers. Certainly, taxi drivers must know the Russian language."
"Some equipment improvements of taxis are taking place anyway. Despite the lack of requirements many entrepreneurs [properly] equip their cars," he added.
In a December 2012 poll by Trip Advisor, Moscow scored lowest out of 40 worldwide tourist destinations for "best taxi services."