In Moldova, government oversight of the taxi market is being stepped up. The State Tax Service has uncovered significant discrepancies in the financial reports of taxi companies, and the Council for Reviewing Investments Significant to National Security has launched an in-depth investigation into Yandex Go's operations. This is happening against a backdrop of intensifying competition: the platform, which has set the standards for ordering taxis via mobile apps for nearly nine years, now faces notable rivals—the Moldovan company Letz and the international company Bolt. But the history of this market shows that government regulation and competition have not always developed in tandem.
Yandex.Taxi launched in Chișinău on July 25, 2017, and offered a fundamentally different level of service. Instead of calling a dispatcher, passengers were given an intuitive app with detailed maps, automatic location tracking, fare calculation, and the ability to track the car's approach. At launch, the minimum fare was 15 lei, and the stated average wait time for a car was about five minutes.
In April 2018, Yandex.Taxi became the first online taxi booking service in Moldova to introduce in-app payment via bank cards. This eliminated the need to search for cash or worry about whether the driver would have change. The common situation where a ride actually ended up costing more due to a lack of small change was no longer a problem. The fare was automatically charged to the card, and passengers could leave a tip through the app if they wished.
There was also a less obvious side to cashless payments. On the bank statements of Yandex.Taxi users, the payee might have been listed as a company registered in the Netherlands. Documents related to the service's operations in Moldova mentioned Yandex. Taxi B.V. was mentioned as early as 2019, while the current Yandex Go terms and conditions list Ridetech International B.V. At the same time, the app is operated in Moldova by the local company Ridetech SRL. The Dutch company may accept payments as an agent for the carrier and subsequently transfer the funds to taxi companies. Therefore, a foreign payment recipient does not mean that the entire cost of the ride becomes income for the foreign platform.
Yandex's success was driven not only by technology but also by network effects: the more passengers used the app, the more attractive it became to drivers. The increase in the number of cars reduced wait times and attracted new customers, strengthening the platform's position and creating a barrier to entry for competitors.
Attempts to compete were made repeatedly. Even before Yandex appeared in Moldova, a local service called iTaxi was operating there, later rebranded as Hip. Citylink was also active in the market, and its services were subsequently merged with iTaxi into a single app. Traditional taxi services, including TaxiClub, also developed their own digital solutions. In December 2021, the Ukrainian company Uklon entered the Chișinău market, but by March 17, 2022, the company had suspended its operations in Moldova.
A new situation began to take shape with the development of the Moldovan app Letz and the entry of Bolt, which officially launched its taxi services in Chișinău in September 2025. At the presentation of the new operator during Moldova Business Week, Doina Nistor, who was serving as Minister of Economic Development and Digitalization at the time, spoke about the need to reduce Yandex's dominance. Thus, fostering competition became a stated goal of the state's economic policy.
The payment models of the competitors have their own distinctive features. According to Bolt's official terms, the service operates in Moldova through Eco Mobility Taxi SRL, a company registered in the country, which accepts cashless payments as an agent for the drivers and transfers the funds to them. For the Moldovan app Letz, Basinvest-Prim SRL is listed as the app developer, and drivers are given the option to withdraw their earnings via Paynet and the e-Gaz network of auto gas stations.
According to data published by ANTA, in 2025, 159 taxi operators partnered with Yandex Go, 84 with Letz, and 54 with Bolt. The same carriers could operate through multiple apps, so these figures do not reflect market shares based on the number of trips or revenue.
At the same time, the government had been keeping an eye on Yandex long before Bolt appeared. As early as the summer of 2017, ANTA, in collaboration with the police, inspected vehicles operating through Yandex.Taxi and reported any violations found. In January 2023, the Competition Council launched an investigation into possible abuse of a dominant position. In November 2025, the platform operator was fined approximately 800,000 lei for a procedural violation during the investigation, rather than for proven abuse of dominance.
The current situation is notable for the scale of the inspections. According to the Ministry of Finance, in the first half of 2026, more than 7.1 million taxi rides were taken in Moldova, involving approximately 8,800 drivers. For 3.66 million trips totaling over 303 million lei, the tax service identified discrepancies in driver information. For 70 taxi companies, the discrepancies between ANTA data and tax reports exceeded 20 drivers. Additionally, 81 operators received services from Yandex but failed to charge or pay the corresponding VAT.
It is important here to distinguish between the responsibilities of the platform and those of the carriers. Yandex Go provides a technological service for processing orders, while passengers are transported by companies registered in Moldova. According to government data, Yandex's commission amounts to 12% of the trip cost. For a trip costing 100 lei, that amounts to 12 lei, and the VAT at a 20% rate on that commission is 2.40 lei. Some of the claims against local operators relate to the taxation of services imported by the platform.
At the same time, tax revenues from the sector are increasing. In 2024, taxi companies paid 151.5 million lei in taxes and contributions to the budget, and in 2025, 215.9 million lei—a 42.5% increase.
At the same time, the Council for the Review of Investments Significant to National Security has initiated an in-depth assessment of Yandex Go. The authorities intend to examine the platform's ownership structure, ultimate beneficiaries, and potential risks associated with the collection, storage, and transfer of users' personal data. The company has been given 20 days to disclose the relevant information. The law allows for restrictive measures, including the suspension of operations.
For passengers, the consequences will depend on how carriers' costs and competitive conditions change. Compliance with tax and labor obligations may affect the cost of rides, but the presence of multiple services could keep prices from rising. Equally important is the availability of vehicles, especially during peak hours. Many drivers work with two or three platforms simultaneously, so the emergence of new operators does not necessarily mean an increase in the number of cars on the roads. Competition is unfolding not so much over drivers as over passengers, working conditions, and commission rates.
There is also a political context to these developments that is hard to ignore. In 2022, the Baltic states already faced the question of whether Yandex would continue operating in the taxi market. Latvia and Estonia banned the platform's operations, while in Lithuania the app was removed from the App Store. The main arguments cited were national security and risks related to users' personal data. Today, the Russian platform has virtually disappeared from these markets, and other operators—notably Bolt—have taken its place. In Moldova, the situation is unfolding according to its own script, but similar questions are arising. To what extent are these developments related to compliance with the law and national security, and to what extent are they tied to political and economic realities? And most importantly, will passengers benefit from this, for whom three things remain important: the fare, wait time, and choice of options? // 19.10.2026 — InfoMarket.