Over the past few years, the Competition Authority has repeatedly called for the legal framework for taxi services to be reviewed. This information page provides the following opinions, recommendations and reviews that the Authority has addressed to the government on this matter:
- Review, dated 13 October 2022, the Competition Authority's opinion
on the bill on taxi services
- Review, dated 1 June 2022, the Competition Authority's review of the Bill on taxi services
- Review, dated 11 November 2020, the Competition Authority's review of the Bill on taxi services
- Review, 13 January 2020, Competition Authority's review of the Bill on taxi services
- Review, Dated 19 June 2019 on the Bill on Taxis – draft on the Consultation Portal
- Review, dated 25 June 2018 to the Ministry of Transport and Municipal Affairs regarding the Bill on Taxis – legislative proposals
- Review, dated 26 March 2018, to the Committee Office of the Althingi, regarding a motion on freedom in the taxi market
- Review, dated 18 December 2017, to the Ministry of Transport and Local Government, regarding the work of the task force on a comprehensive review of the regulatory framework for taxi operations.
- Review, dated 5 May 2010, to the Ministry of Transport, regarding the then-ongoing work on a comprehensive review of, among other things, the law on taxis.
- Review, dated 18 August 2008, to the Ministry of Transport, regarding the draft Bill on hire car operations.
- Opinion No. 2/2007, Restrictions on the market for hire cars arising from the provisions of laws and regulations.
In the above-mentioned opinions and reviews, the Competition Authority has emphasised that the forces of competition should be allowed to operate in this market as in others, as active competition generally contributes to lower prices and better service. In this regard, the Competition Authority has, among other things, recommended that the following provisions of the current Act No. 134/2001 on Taxis be reviewed:
- Limitation on the number of taxis, see Article 8 of the Act. This supply restriction has an obvious negative effect on competition. It is worth noting that the number of taxis in the capital region and the South West is similar to that when the Competition Authority wrote an opinion to the Minister of Transport 11 years ago, despite significant population growth and a boom in tourist arrivals to the country.
- It is prohibited to grant more than one licence to any one party, pursuant to section 6 of the Act, but this prevents the establishment of taxi companies by purchasing vehicles, obtaining a licence and hiring drivers.
- A requirement that driving a taxi is the principal occupation of the person doing the driving, see Articles 5 and 9 of the Act.
- The obligation for taxi drivers to report to taxi ranks and the role of taxi rank managers, in accordance with Article 3 of the Act. In this regard, the Competition Authority is aware that adequate oversight of the operation must be ensured, but in this respect, an effective framework for monitoring the operation needs to be established, making use of technological advances, among other things.
The EFTA Surveillance Authority (ESA) has raised objections to the regulatory framework for taxi services in Norway. It is important to learn lessons from this matter, but ESA has also initiated an inquiry into this activity in Iceland.
Further information on the matter can be found on the ESA website.
