The cartel agreement in regional passenger transport services uncovered by the Competition Council (KP) is unacceptable and the actions of involved passenger carriers must be punished to the full extent of the law, said Minister of Transport Jānis Vitenbergs.
He stressed that the point of the tender for regional passenger transport services is providing all Latvian residents European-level services that are of high quality, convenient and accessible.
«The situation uncovered by KP is unacceptable. The actions committed by the three carriers is not only
a crime and must be punished at the full extent of the law,
but also represents an obstacle to letting all residents enjoy comfortable transport services using new buses,» said Vitenbergs.
As previously reported, KP has fined three regional passenger carrier companies – Liepājas autobusu parks JSC, Nordeka and Latvijas sabiedriskais autobuss LLC – for engaging in a cartel agreement. The three were fined a total of EUR 1.975 million.
The fine was applied for a cartel agreement in procurements organised by Road Transport Administration for public transport services on regional routes for a period of 10 years.
More on this topic: Latvian Competition Council severely punishes three passenger-carrying companies