The Israel Antitrust Authority yesterday asked Minister of Transport Yisrael Katz to encourage the entry into Israel of a cooperative transportation company, such as Uber or Lyft, regardless of the existing taxicab sector. According to the Antitrust Authority, a check by it in recent months showed that "The existing transportation regulations are preventing the entry of taxi services based on advanced technology linking passengers with private drivers seeking to offer their services." The Antitrust Authority added that the addition of more means of transportation would increase the consumer's options, and facilitate the development of an accessible and convenient alternative to public transportation. Antitrust Authority director general Michal Halperin asked the Ministry of Transport to establish a joint team with the Ministry of Finance for the purpose of removing regulatory barriers and promoting the introduction of cooperative means of transportation. In her request to the Ministry of Transport, Halperin wrote, "The interests of taxi drivers must not prevent or delay a change in the existing regulatory policy for the purpose of opening the sector to free competition and adopting modern technologies with clear economic benefit." The Antitrust Authority argues that the practical result of the existing regulation is "restriction of the services that can be a substitute for travel in private vehicles. The use of private vehicles affects overcrowding on the roads, parking problems in cities, and air pollution. Allowing the entry of advanced tax services will enable people to abandon the use of a private car… Technological progress currently facilitates a broad range of possible advanced taxi services, and is bringing welcome competition to this market. What we want is for the consumer to be able to use his mobile telephone to obtain access to transportation, and to compare the prices of the various means of transportation." For the past two years, the Ministry of Transport has strongly opposed the entry of cooperative transportation services, headed by Uber, claiming that "harming taxi owners will detract from their ability to compete in the market, due to the various expenses imposed on them… It is also liable to cause the collapse of the tax sector." Several months ago, the issue was also the cause of an open public confrontation between the prime minister and Minister of Transport Yisrael Katz, who said that if the state was planning on encouraging such services, it should prepare billions of shekels in compensation for the taxi sector. Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on September 8, 2016 © Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2016
The Israeli Minister of Transport, Yisrael Katz, has been asked by the Israel Antitrust Authority to encourage the entry of cooperative transportation platforms such as Uber and Lyft, and told that the interests of traditional taxi drivers must not prevent the launches of these platforms as they will encourage free competition. The Antitrust Authority stated that the addition of more transportation services will increase consumers' options and develop more accessible and convenient public transportation.