Competition Law Exemption For Webtaxi Pricing Algorithm

Webtaxi S.à.r.l. (previously ProCab) operates a taxi booking platform in Luxembourg, to which Webtaxi affiliates and taxis of competing undertakings (generally through payment of a monthly fee) are linked. When a client makes a booking, an algorithm allocates the taxi closest to the client and calculates the taxi fare, based on predetermined criteria (price per kilometre, length of journey, traffic conditions, pick-up charge, etc.). The fare is non-negotiable and binding on both clients and taxi drivers.

Upon a complaint against the platform received in January 2016 alleging illegal price fixing, the Competition Council ("Council") opened an investigation.

In decision n°2018-FO-01 of 7 June 2018, the Council analysed Webtaxi's activity as that of a platform in a two-sided market for advance booking of taxis which is national in scope. It confirmed the existence of a horizontal price-fixing agreement between competitors on that market in violation of Article 3 of