Uber Technologies has pledged to only work drivers with commercial taxi license in Moscow, and to share aggregated data on travel routes with city authorities, the Russian capital's administration said in a statement Monday.
The agreement came after Moscow's transportation department threatened in early February to ban global taxi service Uber from the city, unless the company agrees to the terms.
Uber's chief in Russia, Dmitry Izmailov, said in a statement published Monday on the Moscow government website that the company's “interests coincide with the interests of the transport department and of Muscovites.”
?€?We seek to make moving around the city comfortable and safe, and to offer an affordable alternative to personal cars,?€? Izmailov said.
Uber's agreement to limit its service in Moscow to licensed taxi drivers would help improve road safety, Moscow's transportation department chief Maxim Liskutov said in the joint statement.
Similar agreements had earlier been signed with major online taxi services including Gett and Yandex.Taxi, the RBC news website has reported.
Uber currently operates in seven Russian cities and is planning to expand into 10 new cities by the end of the year, RBC reported.