Instead of the well-known message “You’ve reached Pink Taxi, please hold – the first available operator will be with you shortly”, Belgrade customers have recently been hearing a different message. “Welcome to Pink and Yandex Go, calls are recorded,” says a new female voice answering the familiar Pink Taxi number, one of the largest taxi associations in Belgrade.
The strategic partnership agreement between the Russian IT giant Yandex Go and the Serbian company Pink Taxi has been presented as a step towards modernisation and digitalisation, as well as greater passenger safety. “Our goal is to provide passengers in Serbia with a faster and more reliable experience, while enabling drivers to earn more,” Yandex stated at the launch of the cooperation.
This partnership, announced by the companies at the beginning of the year, marks the start of a consolidation of Belgrade’s taxi market. A joint platform, under the umbrella of Russia’s Yandex, has brought together the majority of taxi service providers in the Serbian capital. Following the agreement, the number of taxi drivers connected through the shared platform has risen to around 4,300, according to data from the Association of Taxi Organisations reported to Bloomberg Adria.
This means that more than two-thirds of all registered taxi drivers – of whom there are nearly 6,200 in Belgrade, according to the latest available list from the City Secretariat for Transport (2022) – are now accessible via Yandex’s platform.
The Yandex Go app currently lists 32 taxi operators and associations in Belgrade. Notably absent is Naxi Taxi, which continues to operate independently. “Naxi Taxi is not and will not be part of the Yandex system,” the company stated, following its competitor’s partnership with the Russian giant.
Yandex Go, the service arm of the Russian IT company Yandex, has been present in Serbia since 2018. Its services are available in Belgrade, Novi Sad and Kragujevac. The company does not own vehicles within its system; instead, it expands its network through partnerships with taxi associations and independent entrepreneurs, integrating them via its platform. In addition to passenger transport, Yandex Go also offers courier and delivery services.
The partnership between Yandex and Pink – described by some taxi drivers as “an overnight turning point” – has brought uncertainty and dissatisfaction.
“Before, you had your own base, your own call centre, your own customers – now everything goes through the app,” says Slobodan, a taxi driver who has been driving passengers around Belgrade for more than a decade, as we make our way through the afternoon traffic at Autokomanda. Although we’re self-employed, we’re no longer our own bosses the way we used to be,” he says, expressing scepticism about the new rules and dissatisfaction that the app deducts a percentage after every ride.
In addition to changes in how drivers’ earnings are calculated, the method of ride allocation has also changed. Previously, Belgrade taxi drivers would respond themselves to calls announced by the dispatch centre.
What has (and hasn’t) changed for users
All previous methods of booking and payment remain available, but some new ones have been introduced. Taxi fares remain unchanged, as they continue to be regulated by the City of Belgrade.
Taxis within the Yandex system can still be ordered in the usual way – by calling the familiar phone numbers of Belgrade taxi services or via the Yandex Go app. Payment can be made in cash or by card in the vehicle, which should be specified in advance to the operator.
A new feature is the option to pay directly through the Yandex Go app, which can also be used to book a vehicle.
After ordering a taxi, customers now receive a text message with information about when their vehicle will arrive. “Drivers may need time to get used to the new system, but it has proven better for users, as it has genuinely reduced waiting times,” says Bjelić.
Customers have also gained greater security – there are no longer longer routes or tampered taximeters, as the app monitors everything. Users who are dissatisfied with the service can submit complaints through the Yandex Go app.
(Bloomberg Adria, 24.04.2026)