The Competition Committee is studying the pricing of taxi aggregators in Uzbekistan
The Competition Committee has launched an investigation into the pricing of taxi aggregators and whether there are signs of unfair competition in their activities. This was prompted by a several-fold increase in fares during peak hours amid "technical glitches" in the operation of major aggregators.
Competition Committee investigates pricing by taxi aggregators in Uzbekistan
The Competition Promotion and Consumer Protection Committee of Uzbekistan has launched an investigation into the prices of taxi aggregator services and whether there are signs of unfair competition in their operations.
According to the committee, following "technical glitches" observed in the operation of major aggregators in recent days, fares for competing services during peak hours increased severalfold. This caused justified objections from the public.
During the study, the committee will pay special attention to how justified the price increases are and whether competition legislation is being complied with.
Aggregators were advised to review their fare-setting algorithms and prevent sharp and artificial price hikes.
Companies must also take the following measures:
"Any action in a competitive environment must not contradict the interests of consumers, and the price and quality of services should be based on fair and transparent principles," the committee emphasized.
The committee stated that if aggregators violated competition law or consumer protection requirements, an inspection will be conducted and measures established by law will be taken.
It worth recalling that on the evening of October 9, an outage lasting about an hour was observed in the Yandex Go service in Uzbekistan. On the same day, drones attacked a Yandex data center in the Kaluga region of Russia. Companies confirmed to Gazeta that against the backdrop of service disruptions, demand for other taxi aggregators and services increased.
On the morning of October 11, Yandex Go users faced disruptions again: the app failed to show trip prices and did not allow ordering a taxi. Public transport movements were also not displayed in the public transport section. Drivers and couriers also reported problems. On the same day, Yandex Cloud reported that its data center in the Russian city of Vladimir was damaged as a result of a drone attack. The data center's operations were completely suspended.
Yandex Uzbekistan explained to Gazeta that the services use a distributed computing infrastructure, which is why a glitch in one country can affect the operation of certain functions in another country. Errors can also occur during the load redistribution process. The company stated that the data of Uzbek users is protected and stored in a jurisdiction that ensures the necessary level of protection in accordance with the law.
On the evening of October 12, the company informed Gazeta that services were being gradually restored. According to its data, payments to taxi fleet partners were made automatically as usual, and instant payouts for drivers were also available. However, errors or delays could be observed in some payments.