Hutt and City Taxi company ordered to pay $150,000 after Commerce Commission finds it engaged in 'cartel conduct'

Commerce Commission chair Anna Rawlings. Photo / Mark Mitchell

A Wellington taxi company has been ordered to pay $150,000 for cartel conduct after it admitted to fixing the prices of taxi fares.

Hutt and City Taxis admitted to breaching the Commerce Act by agreeing to fix prices with two other taxi companies operating out of Wellington airport.

The companies set a fixed minimum price of $25, and then discussed the design of stickers to display the newly fixed price.

Chair of the Commerce Commission Anna Rawlings said the behaviour "undermines the essence of what competition is all about".

"If people agree not to compete then consumers are deprived of the benefits of competition including maybe paying higher prices than what they wanted to pay."

She told the Herald that businesses are responsible for making sure they know the law – unless they want to pay the price,

"We encourage all businesses and individuals to make sure they understand the law relating to cartel conduct, so agreements to fix prices, allocating customers – this is all cartel conduct which can attract high financial penalties or even prison."

The scheme was only operating for a month between October and November 2020, but Rawlings said it only ceased when the Commerce Commission began investigating.

Jenna Raeburn, the general manager of corporate affairs of Wellington Airport, says she's glad the issue was solved quickly.

"It is concerning this has happened but the Commerce Commission has got on to it and addressed it so we're moving on ... we want to see fair behaviour from taxi companies and fair prices for consumers with good levels of competition."

The High Court imposed the penalties on Thursday, which will be payable in instalments over the next four years.

It initially found the appropriate starting point for fines would be within the range of $500,000 to $600,000 but took "mitigating circumstance" into account, as well as Hutt and City's financial position.