According to the regulations, a person must reside in Poland for at least 185 days to obtain a Polish driver’s license. “The procedure itself also takes time,” the daily noted.
Uber’s Central and Eastern Europe managing director for passengers, Michal Konowrocki, conveyed that according to the company's estimates, it is facing an exodus of 15 to 30% of its drivers, and passengers will feel the effects.
The regulations, which will come into force on June 17, were introduced via last year’s amendment to the Traffic Law and other legislation.
The introduction of the new law is in response to media reports of sexual abuse committed by rideshare drivers.
The Polish daily Rzeczpospolita reported two years ago that in 2021, there had been 11 reports of foreign Uber and Bolt cab drivers taking their female passengers to a deserted location and raping or molesting them there.
In the first five months of 2022, law enforcement authorities recorded nine such cases. It’s important to note that most victims of rape fail to report the crime.
Rzeczpospolita established that out of 20 confirmed cases, six perpetrators were Georgians, two Uzbeks, two Tajiks, one Algerian, and one Turkmen citizen. The nationalities of the others could not be determined.
