Australian Taxi Booking App ihail Gets The Green Light By ACCC

After twice knocking it back, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has finally authorised a collaboration between taxi networks and Cabcharge to launch and operate a new smartphone taxi booking app, called ihail.

“The app will provide an additional platform for passengers to book taxis from a large pool of taxi networks and drivers. The ACCC accepts this is likely to reduce waiting times, particularly in peak periods, which is a benefit to the public,” ACCC Chairman Rod Sims said.

Image: Shutterstock

Following the ACCC’s draft decision to deny the app, ihail made “a number of significant modifications to its app”. These include giving passengers a choice to pay their fare in the taxi (rather than just via the app), and the ability to choose their preferred taxi network based on certain performance information during the booking process or the nearest available taxi (regardless of network).

“The ACCC considers the ownership structure underpinning the ihail app is still likely to allow the participants to quickly establish a larger network of taxi drivers than any other app, and that this initial competitive advantage will not be gained from offering a better product to drivers and passengers but through ihail’s ownership structure alone,” Sims said.

“However, the ACCC considers that ihail will still face competition from other taxi booking apps and ride sharing apps which have established brands and customer bases. There is also nothing in the arrangements preventing drivers using other booking apps,” Mr Sims said.

“The ACCC has imposed conditions of authorisation requiring ihail to explicitly inform drivers that they remain free to use competing booking apps. These conditions also prohibit ihail and its shareholder networks from preventing drivers using other booking apps or disadvantaging drivers who do so in preference or in addition to the ihail app.”

“These factors should mitigate the extent of the reduction in competition and associated public detriment due to the competitive advantage ihail will have as a result of its ownership structure,” Mr Sims said.

The initial members of the ihail joint venture include Yellow Cabs, Silver Top Taxi Service, Black and White Cabs, Suburban Taxis and Cabcharge. It will be launched in major metropolitan and regional centres across Australia as well as some cities overseas.

Other taxi networks can sign up to the ihail app, without becoming members of the joint venture. Taxi drivers working for any participating taxi network will need to opt-in to receive ihail bookings over their existing dispatch systems. Drivers and networks will still be free to use other booking services, including other booking apps.

The ACCC’s concerns were based on Cabcharge being the exclusive provider of payments processing services to ihail. Originally ihail passengers would only have been able to pay for fares through the app. This means emerging competition between Cabcharge and other providers of taxi payment processing services “would have been dampened” ACCC said.

However, the changes made to the app to allow passengers to pay in the taxi means that other payments processing providers are able to compete to provide services to ihail customers. “These modifications to the ihail app and the conditions imposed by the ACCC reduce the extent of the ACCC’s previous concerns by helping to ensure potential public detriments are mitigated,” the ACCC said.

[ACCC]


The Cheapest NBN 50 Plans

It’s the most popular NBN speed in Australia for a reason. Here are the cheapest plans available.

At Gizmodo, we independently select and write about stuff we love and think you'll like too. We have affiliate and advertising partnerships, which means we may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page. BTW – prices are accurate and items in stock at the time of posting.