Solution into problem: Ukrainian Marshrutka and Romanian maxi-taxi at the fall of planning paradigms after 1990

Abstract

Focusing on marshrutka in Ukraine and maxi-taxi in Romania after 1990, I argue that both the idea and the realisation of shared taxis at the peripheries of Europe during the post-socialist years have been implemented as a solution for needed mobility, yet they have shifted to becoming a problem. Marshrutka and maxi-taxi can be considered an area of negotiations, which caused both public support and rejection. More recently, collocated as they are in the peripheries of Europe, a shared taxi service conflicted with images of (European) modernity and was labelled as incompatible with any planning or sustainable policy. Additionally, implementing stricter regulations displayed the state’s power and presence.