Only 23% (51,000) of taxi drivers in Ukraine are currently licensed, First Deputy Minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine Kostiantyn Yefymenko said at panel discussion in Kyiv on Thursday.

According to him, during the period of Ukraine's independence from 1991 to the present day, the taxi market has grown by 13 times, to 220,000 cars. At the same time, the number of business entities in this sector since 1994 has grown by 894 times, from 33 to 29,500.

According to Yefymenko, the Ukrainian taxi market is characterized by the dissimilarity of taxi vehicles, while in Europe it is uniform.

"Now the state is concerned about three issues: traffic safety, budget revenues from this traffic, as today payments are close to zero, and the level of services passengers receive," he said.

He noted the need to reform the Ukrainian taxi market through adopting a law on such transportation, a draft of which has been prepared by the ministry.

According to Yefymenko, the bill, in particular, foresees that taxi vehicles should be not lower than C class, have proper equipment, taximeters, at least four doors and space for luggage separated from the passenger compartment.

According to the deputy minister, the bill has not been sent for external agreement: it will be discussed with profile trade unions and market participants.