A man holds a can of beer as he leans out the window of a taxi as it passes the Cenotaph during the annual ANZAC Day march through central Sydney April 25, 2014.
A man holds a can of beer as he leans out the window of a taxi as it passes the Cenotaph during the annual ANZAC Day march through central Sydney April 25, 2014. Australia and New Zealand on Friday marked the 99th anniversary of the first major military action involving Australian and New Zealand forces during the First World War. ANZAC is an acronym for Australia and New Zealand Army Corps. Reuters/David Gray

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, or ACCC, presented a draft determination on Monday, proposing to deny the authorisation of ihail Pyt Ltd as it would adversely affect market competition.

ihail is a joint venture initiative between Australian and global taxi networks, along with other vehicles operating in the taxi industry. As a single booking platform, this new new smartphone app is expected to make the booking process easier.

“The ACCC considers that the ihail app would have a significant impact on competition in the taxi industry, which could impact prices and quality of service,” ACCC Chairman Rod Sims said. “The ACCC accepts this app would provide a more convenient way for consumers to book taxi services, but in the draft determination the ACCC takes the view that this comes at too big a cost to competition,” he added.

If the ihail taxi booking app launches, it would start operations in major metropolis and vital regional areas throughout Australia as well as some cities outside the nation. There will be one main taxi booking interface which will offer complete access of the network to enable passengers to book taxis immediately, whether or not the driver belongs to that particular network area.

ACCC said that the taxi industry participants would be free to use their own official booking app as well. Yellow Cabs, Black and White Cabs, Cabcharge, Silver Top Taxi Service and Suburban Taxis would reportedly be the initial members of the ihail joint venture.

Through the app, in-taxi payment terminals will be made available to Australian taxis and cabs. The ACCC believes that the number of shareholders at initial stage would comprise half of all taxi participants across the nation, with the larger share to be captured by taxis operating in metro cities.

There are already a number of apps that provide easy access to taxis throughout Australian locations. The increase in the number of apps is reportedly due to the desire of the taxi industry participants to excel with more numbers of passengers.

“ihail will achieve a potentially dominant position from launch – not through competition, but because of the larger fleet of taxis its ownership structure delivers,” Sims said.

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