2023-08-01 13:30:50
The Catalan Competition Authority (ACCO) of the Generalitat has sanctioned Élite Taxi with 122,910 euros for infringing the Competition Law for a “collective recommendation to boycott Uber and other operators” which implies a very serious infringement of the article 1.1 of the Law on Defense of Competition (LDC).
The resolution, published this Tuesday and consulted by Europa Press, specifies that this recommendation was addressed to taxi drivers in the Barcelona Metropolitan Area (AMB) “in order to prevent them from registering on the taxi service mediation platform through the app Uber or other operators.
This resolution also obliges Élite Taxi to “cease the infringing conduct and to refrain, henceforth, from carrying out conduct similar to that identified in the resolution”.
In a statement, the Generalitat body has stated that, in 2020 and after Uber’s announcement to start a taxi mediation service through mobile applications, Élite Taxi “began a pressure campaign with the aim of making the taxi drivers of the AMB did not adhere to the platform.
Considering that the entity disseminated “by various means a negative and discrediting image of Uber” and pressured taxi drivers through communications on social networks, on its website or through direct calls warning them of the negative consequences of working with the company, according to the ACCO.
Actions against taxi drivers
It has also verified the will of the association to “carry out various actions against taxi drivers who use the Uber application or other operators” and that it disseminated personal data of the affiliated taxi drivers and their activity was hindered.
According to the ACCO, the “purpose of Elite’s conduct was to hinder the provision of mediation services by Uber and other operators in hiring taxi rides in the AMB through the app and, consequently, prevent entry or consolidation in the market of the aforementioned companies”.
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