The Antitrust has launched two investigations into possible agreements restricting competition against the main radio taxi service management companies in Rome (Radiotaxi 3570, Cooperativa Pronto Taxi and Samarcanda) and in Milan (Taxiblu, Yellow Tax Multiservice and Autoradiotassi). The report originated from the company Mytaxi Italia.
Both proceedings concern the exclusivity clauses contained in the deeds which regulate the relations between the radio taxi service management companies and the taxi drivers/members. These clauses, if applied to a majority percentage of taxi drivers in a given territorial area (as happens in Rome and Milan), "appear to hinder, if not to prevent, the simultaneous use by individual taxi drivers of various intermediaries for the provision of collection and sorting services for taxi service demand - writes the antitrust - and in particular to hinder or slow down the entry into the market of new operators offering innovative services of this type", such as the application for smartphones and tablets managed by Mytaxi Italia, which puts users and taxi drivers in direct contact and also offers an offer rating service.
Some officials of the Authority, with the help of the special Antitrust unit of the Guardia di Finanza, carried out a series of inspections at the premises of the companies concerned, parties to the proceeding, deemed to possess elements useful for the purposes of the assessment, as well as in the seat of Union of Radio Taxis of Italy – Uri, national association of radio taxi operators.
