ArmeniaIn search of a safe ride — the risks in Armenia’s shared taxi systemShared taxis fill the gap in Armenia’s ageing intercity public transport network, but accountability for passenger safety remains unclear. Share▲Graphic by Mary Hovsepyan/OC Media.In early July, 27-year-old musician Anahit Stepanyan and her friend were involved in a car crash while travelling from Yerevan to her home in Vanadzor via a shared taxi. The accident killed the driver and injured four others — Anahit believes it was a miracle she and her friend survived. Left with severe injuries, Anahit had to leave her job, with her mother also taking a leave of absence to care for her. Now facing financial difficulties and psychological trauma, Anahit is recovering from her injuries slowly. ‘It’s as if with crutches I am learning how to walk again’, she says. Shared taxis are a common way to travel across Armenia, offering affordable prices, faster journeys, more comfortable cars, and more varied schedules than the alternatives. Yet, despite being the main means of regional and intercity travel in Armenia, transporting thousands of people daily, the sector remains largely unregulated. A recent crash involving a shared taxi on the Kuchak-Aparan road on 2 September, which killed five people and injured 10, has again raised questions over the safety of shared taxi services and the regulations overseeing them. The August accident sparked an active discussion over the larger pattern of unsafe driving from shared taxis, and the responsibilities shared between state, taxi services, and drivers. Interior Ministry statistics show that each year, traffic accidents kill on average one person per day. And although the Interior Ministry claims the rate of fatalities in car accidents had decreased by 3.4% in the first half of 2026, the number of injuries increased. Responding to an inquiry by OC Media, the Interior Ministry stated that over the past six months, accidents involving buses or trolleybuses providing transport services accounted for 1.9% of all injury-related accidents. It is unclear how many other accidents or reports involved shared taxi services, however, with the ministry not collecting separate statistics for shared taxi services providing regional and intercity transport. The ministry also claimed that the operation of shared taxi services is regulated by the 2006 Motor Vehicle Transport Law. However, this law defines only two types of vehicles that provide intercity and regional transportation service — neither category actually covers shared taxis, a gap that the ministry did not address. Additionally, while companies that provide public transport services with buses and minibuses in Armenia must hold specific certification and requirements, taxi services do not, ostensibly due to the smaller number of passengers they carry and the size of their vehicles. While a separate law was passed in 2024 requiring taxi operators to obtain a licence, mark their vehicles as taxis, and submit supporting documents, shared taxis again fell between the cracks, being neither classified as taxis nor public transport. Even if shared taxi drivers register as taxi drivers and obtain a licence, there are no oversight mechanisms regulating the companies that hire them. ‘Anyone who has a car and a driver’s license can register themselves as a taxi driver and provide services’, Poghos Shahinyan, Chair of the National Road Safety Council, a local NGO, tells OC Media. The ministry’s response did not clarify why shared taxis, unlike formal transport services, face no vehicle, licensing, or working-hour standards. When Anahit read about the crash on the Kuchak–Aparan road, the story brought back her own frustration with the situation, as well as a realisation that what happened to her was not an isolated incident. Following her own accident in June, Anahit says the taxi service she used did not accept liability, claiming that they were just a mediator between the driver and passenger. They also stated that the driver, who was killed in the crash, was not responsible, despite the official investigation still being ongoing. ‘We trusted them; we thought they wouldn’t hire just anybody or would not accept any car. If our car had had proper airbags, our faces would not be like this’, Anahit says. She adds that the day of the accident was not the first time she had felt unsafe in a shared taxi, noting that she often experienced drivers travelling at excessive speeds or overtaking other vehicles dangerously. At the same time, however, she is careful not to place the blame solely on the drivers. ‘We also know that they try to do three back-and-forth rides each day. Doing this nonstop leads to such accidents; how many times can they drive back and forth? They also have limited time to rest, probably shamefully little, which I blame on the company, so they try to arrive faster to rest. But making money is not all that matters’, Anahit says. Arev Khachatryan, 24, has also had a number of negative experiences with shared taxis, which she first began using three years ago to travel to Ijevan, in the Tavush Province, after beginning her master’s degree in Yerevan. ‘For me, it was normal, until recently, that drivers could talk on the phone at the wheel. I didn’t even consider that I could ask them not to. Most of the drivers talk on the phone, smoke while driving, and wear their seatbelts loosely just so the police will not stop them’, she tells OC Media. She has rarely commented on this, saying that most of the other passengers have been from her hometown and she worries they would criticise her for speaking up. Despite her dissatisfaction, Arev has continued to rely on such services due to the lack of alternatives. Even so, she has continued to switch between various companies, hoping to one day discover a safe option. Shared taxi services have become a profitable business against the backdrop of collapsing infrastructure and an ageing fleet of intercity public transport vehicles. One recent online company to emerge was PoPuti, connecting drivers and passengers heading in the same direction. PoPuti’s public contract for drivers sets requirements that mostly match the state’s. Drivers must have a valid driver’s licence matching their vehicle category, must not have a criminal or administrative record that the company deems to be a risk to safety and reputation, and must pass identity verification when requested. Drivers or managers of driver groups are fully responsible for ensuring that all their drivers meet these standards. A close read of online reviews, however, shows that the experience with the service largely depends on the drivers. ‘PoPuti is not trustworthy. I travelled with them twice, overcoming my fears of travelling with strangers. But no one checks who the people announcing rides are; anyone can do it’, Arev says. Although passengers can submit feedback through PoPuti, the company emphasises that they are not liable for what happens between the driver and the passenger, including loss and damage and misunderstandings. Now, Arev mainly relies on GG Shuttle, an inter-city service organised by GG, a leading Armenian ride-hailing, delivery, and logistics platform, functioning similarly to services like Uber. She says although they have fewer spots and a smaller range of departure times, the cars are better and the feedback system is more reliable. ‘If GG Shuttle disappoints me too, I do not know where to turn’, she says. The GG requirements are similar to those of PoPuti, and are intended to make passengers and drivers aware that they are only an intermediate online service and carry no responsibility for anything that happens in the car. Yet, there are still no tests or regulations to check the driver’s skill, and here too, drivers are the ones personally liable for any traffic violations committed while providing services. Additionally, while both platforms require car insurance from drivers, they do not cover passengers with passenger liability insurance. Then there is LS Group, which describes itself as the first shared taxi service in Vanadzor. A company representative told OC Media that LS Group has strict requirements for vehicles and drivers, carrying out weekly maintenance checks and testing drivers’ professional skills before hiring. It only hires drivers over 35 to ensure sufficient experience, checks for criminal records or mental health issues, and avoids scheduling back-to-back rides to give drivers time to rest. The company says it takes responsibility only for its own drivers and cars, and monitors performance through random passenger feedback calls, online GPS tracking, and in-car cameras. But when traffic accidents happen, they can involve any number of taxi services, which LS Group argues unfairly damages the reputation of companies with stricter standards. The company believes ride quality depends on the price, and as they charge relatively higher prices, they can provide better service, salaries, and maintenance. But passengers, LS Group says, are not always willing to pay a higher price for better service if cheaper options are available. Hakob (not his real name), 47, has worked for several shared taxi companies in Vanadzor over the past seven years. Given the workload and the risk involved, he does not see it as ideal work — but it is one of the few jobs available in this former industrial city, which now has an unemployment rate of over 18%. ‘Hundreds of people ride taxis every day, transporting people and providing for their families with that money. Mostly everything goes well, or only minor inconveniences happen, but once an irresponsible driver makes a mistake, it negatively affects others working in the industry’, Hakob says. Even so, the requirements of the vehicle itself are minimal: a car just has to have six to eight seats. Opel Zafiras, a brand of minivan, are the most common car among shared taxi drivers — yet in Armenia, they are often associated with their poor condition, lack of seatbelts, air conditioning, or functioning airbags. ‘Anything better than an Opel Zafira gets very expensive: the maintenance, the fuel. If I had to drive a better car, I would have to double the price of the ride to maintain the car’, Hakob says. Some problems, he believes, need more attention, but are harder to regulate. A ride from Vandzor to Yerevan normally takes 1 hour 40 minutes, allowing drivers 15-20 minutes to rest before heading back with new passengers. But depending on Yerevan traffic, the trip can stretch to two or three hours. ‘When that happens, drivers are of course stressed, because the next passengers are already waiting at the pickup point’, he says. Artashes Hovhannisyan, the founder of the Vanadzor Drivers Club on Facebook, believes that poor working conditions are the root cause of many issues, and that drivers are often left to face these challenges alone. He notes that shared taxi companies often dismiss drivers who voice their concerns about working conditions, which is why many remain silent and adapt to keep their jobs. ‘Taxi services can exploit drivers, forcing them to make several trips per day for a very small fee. A tight schedule, tired drivers, and lack of time lead to risky actions, which in turn lead to accidents’, Hovhannisyan says. While the law, taxi services, and passengers put the initial responsibility for an accident on drivers, experts say the companies often fail to provide the necessary conditions for safe travel and efficient work in the first place. Anahit still doesn’t know exactly how her life will look once she’s fully recovered. But something has shifted in how she thinks about speaking up. ‘Before the accident, I would never have told a driver to slow down. I would never have agreed to an interview like this one’, Anahit says. Now she thinks this might be one of the only ways anything changes. Ani is an Armenian journalist with a background in multimedia reporting, podcast production and documentary filmmaking. She has a Master´s degree in Media Studies and is interested in stories about migration and post-conflict transformation. Outside of work, she enjoys film festivals, cycling, photography, and baking.