The competition guarantor defends the NCC

In detail, these points are precisely contested: the obligation to have the headquarters and remittance in the municipality that issued the authorization, with the only possibility of having further remittances in the same province / metropolitan area where the territory of the authorizing municipality falls; the obligation to make reservations at the headquarters or the remittance, although it is possible to use technological tools; the obligation to start and end each service at the remittance and finally the obligation to complete and maintain the electronic service sheet.In short, an atomic bomb in the endless battle between taxi drivers and renters with driver (remember that Uber is also included in this category) and risks turning the protest back on.

The AGCM on the other hand was very clear: "The changes to the framework law – they explain – departing from when it was repeatedly requested by the Authority in the past, continue to impose unjustified competitive distortions on the market, also due to the expansion of services of non-scheduled mobility between the public, which no longer justifies such a marked distinction between taxis and NCC ". Then? "In the absence of substantial regulatory reform – there is a real risk of a qualitative reduction in service and an increase in prices to the detriment of consumers. The increase in costs to the detriment of consumers, directly attributable to the introduction of the regulations in question, would amount to to around 115 million euro per year (OSCE parameters). This value, although indicative, provides a reliable estimate of the loss of consumer well-being which – together with the moratorium on the issue of new licenses – is likely to cause serious harm to public users " .

But that's not all yet. Already because according to the Antitrust Authority the imposition of a reservation obligation at the remittance and the obligation of the NCC to acquire the service from the remittance and return in remittance at the end of the journey appear deprived of any logical justification in reason of the advanced technological tools on the market (eg. app for intermediation between supply and demand). In this regard, the Authority also makes a statement to the provision AS1222 in which the Authority itself had deemed inapplicable to the services offered through technological platforms (eg Uber Black) the articles. 3 and 11 co. 4 of the framework law, regarding the obligation to take service calls at the depot.

Taxi drivers – we accept bets – will not take it well. But the AGCM essentially feels the need to demarcate the public service of the square from that on call has actually become less considered the spread of app and taxi booking tools on call, which make the differentiation of a regulatory regime between taxis and NCC lacks any justification.

The AGCM has concluded the provision, considering a sector reform that takes into account various factors as necessary and urgent. That is the need to proceed as far as possible with a comparison between taxi services and other forms of offline mobility; entry into the sector of new services with a high technological content, which have radically changed the operating paradigm of the sector itself, making the law 21/92 obsolete; of the need to introduce compensatory measures for taxis, to compensate for the effects of visa opening and enlargement of the sector.

And then you go to the concrete proposal. That is the immediate modification / elimination of the rules introduced by art. 10 bis, which contribute to restrict competition to the detriment of the NCC, suggesting specifically to eliminate any limitation to the NCC service booking methods (see article 3, paragraph 1 and article 11 paragraph 4 first period L. 21/92); to repeal all the provisions of law 21/92 which determine territorial restrictions on the operation of the NCC (see article 3, paragraph 3 and article 11 paragraph 4 first sentence, and article 5-bis and article 8 co. 3 L. 21/92); repeal the moratorium on the issuing of new NCC authorizations up to the realization of the national register (see article 10-bis co. 6 D.L. 135/2018). The challenge is launched. Now let's see how the taxi drivers will respond.

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