“Considering the public utility aspect of taxi services, the confederation is in favor of setting minimum tariffs for these operations to allow a large number of people to use these services and to eliminate any potential discrimination in relation with other forms of public land transport, namely, buses, trolleybuses, tramways and subway, which rejoice unitary and/or minimum tariffs, although we all represent the basic and main structure of public means of transport. Setting minimum tariffs will not affect the taxi services market, as local players will be exclusively obliged not to lower tariffs below the minimum rate, but they will be free to set higher tariffs,” COTAR said in its press release.
It also said that setting minimum tariffs will compel taxi firms to observe the provisions of Government Ordinance 99/2000 which bans the provision or sale of services or products at a loss. It added there also are other types of minimum tariffs on the local market, such as notary fees, the tariffs on the market of civil liability car insurance RCA, as well as the tariffs set by the local transport authorities.
As regards the number of taxi licenses, COTAR said four cabs per 1000 inhabitants is the highest number in Europe, adding a decision of the Romanian Constitutional Court says capping the number of taxi licenses is legal.
The Romanian Competition Council said Friday that amending the taxi legislation to set unitary tariffs for taxi operators and ban routes outside the locality where the transport license was issued breaches the free competition principle.
Last week, the Chamber of Deputies’ committee for industries and services approved a series of amendments to the taxi legislation. One of the amendments introduces unitary tariffs for taxi services, to be set by local authorities. Another amendment bans routes outside the locality where the taxi license was issued.
According to the antitrust watchdog, it is impossible to set a correct unitary tariff, considering costs registered by private transporters are different. The states that implemented unitary tariffs for taxi services are currently working on eliminating them, the antitrust watchdog argued.
The current taxi legislation allows operators to charge any tariff they want, without exceeding a maximum cap set by local authorities.
According to the Competition Council, authorities should take into account consumers’ preferences and the characteristics of each locality.