Drafting the legislation that brought ride-sharing to Romania

LEAD OFFICE

Bucharest

The Challenge

How to open up the Romanian market for ride-sharing apps?

Romania’s Taxi Association was placing significant pressure on the Government, through direct lobbying and the organisation of massive street protests, to pass a Governmental Emergency Ordinance (GEO).

The legislation would ban ride-hailing apps from the country – a move which would have had a significant impact both on Romanian consumers and their ability to enjoy free-market access to private hire transport, and also on the wider economy of the country and its reputation as an open centre for global business in Central Europe.

Grayling was engaged by the Coalition for the Digital Economy to help communicate to Government and legislators the potentially negative impacts of such regulation, and to argue the case for a different, more measured approach.

The Solution

Making the case to the right people…

It was clear that regulation, not restriction, was the answer. This was a classic public affairs and stakeholder engagement campaign, comprising strategic positioning, robust messaging development, the creation of clear, data-led content to accompany key messages, and a robust programme of stakeholder engagement through both one-to-one briefings and involvement in the legislative process.

Throughout the campaign, Grayling drafted amendments to proposed legislation, assisted the client in its participation in a public debate on the issue organized by the Ministry of Transport, secured that campaign messaging was present and communicated in all relevant discussion groups.

We organised meetings for the Coalition with the Minister of Development and the Minister of Transportation, briefing them on the advantages this sector would bring to minimising city traffic and supporting citizens and the economy, and communicated with all stakeholders involved in the legislative process, including all MPs participating in Bill Committees.