Armenian antitrust agency finds illegalities at taxi service market and warns 16 companies

YEREVAN, December 23. /ARKA/. Armenia's Commission for Protection of Economic Competition has found out some illegalities at taxi service market and has warned a number of companies against breaching the law. 

Artak Shaboyan, the head of the commission, said the commission had monitored 16 companies providing taxi services and had found unfair competition cases. 

The monitoring showed that despite taxi drivers work with taximeters installed in their cars, but the cost of the trip is not always reflects the reality.    

In particular, there is pointed out in each car that one kilometer costs 100 dram, and the minimal price for passengers is 500 to 600 drams, but the mileage, boarding, and passenger waiting time included in this minimal cost are shown nowhere.

“Many taxi services, in a bid to take advantage of this, set 2 kilometers as minimum, after which the taximeter starts counting kilometers, and this overstated initial mileage makes per-kilometer fare higher, up to 120 or 150 drams and boarding price up to 100 or 120 drams and passenger waiting time starting from the fifth minute, which is not shown. This deludes passengers and shows unfair competition,” Shaboyan said.

He said that the commission refrained from strict sanctions against wrongdoers, since it was a random choice for monitoring and problems are similar at almost all taxi services, but it demanded to put things right.  

In this connection, Shaboyan said that the commission will propose the transport and communication ministry to make some amendments to the law to force all taxi services to work properly. ($1 – AMD 405.54).–0--