ACCC Won’t Oppose Cabcharge Buying Yellow Cabs Queensland
Story by The Sydney Morning Herald.
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CABCHARGE IS one step closer to acquiring Yellow Cabs in Queensland after the nation’s consumer watchdog announced it would not oppose the move on Thursday.
Cabcharge, the company that provides electronic payment systems to the majority of Australian taxis, entered into an agreement in February to buy Yellow Cabs in Queensland for $20 million, subject to Australian Competition and Consumer Commission approval.
Yellow Cabs is one of two large taxi networks in Brisbane with a market share of about 50 per cent, according to the ACCC.
On Wednesday, the ACCC announced it would not oppose the acquisition and said it believed the move would not lessen competition.
“The ACCC found that it was unlikely the acquisition would result in Cabcharge foreclosing competition from alternative non-cash payment system providers, as there are a number of alternative systems available and it is drivers who choose which system to use,” ACCC Commissioner Roger Featherston said.
“Further, the taxi business is being constrained by the popularity of ridesharing services such as Uber.”