New Taxi Tariffs at Baku Airport are Unlawful - Ombudsman

The Azerbaijani Ombudsman's Office has deemed the new taxi service tariffs at the Baku airport unlawful. The human rights commissioner's office believes that the new tariffs violate the right to equality and the principle of competition.

New rules for passenger transportation from the air hub came into force at Baku International Airport on September 10. Passengers arriving in Baku are offered to order a taxi from new smart terminals installed at the airport. Orders can be served by special vehicles (red "London cabs") belonging to the "Baki Taxi" company and a limited number of special vehicles from other taxi aggregators that "comply with legislative requirements." These measures were explained by the "improvement of taxi service quality."

Fixed tariffs based on distance have been established for city zones. In general, transporting a passenger from the airport to the city can cost between 20 and 30 manats (12 to 18 US dollars).

These measures caused dissatisfaction among passengers, as they led to a 1.5-to-2-fold increase in taxi fares at the airport. Drivers were also unhappy, as thousands of car owners lost the opportunity to transport passengers from the airport. A one-way trip to the airport also became unprofitable, as drivers lost the opportunity to pick up passengers on the return journey.

The mass discontent, which resulted in active discussions on social networks, prompted the Ombudsman's office staff to monitor the situation for the "provision of the right to equality."

According to the Ombudsman's Office press release, distributed on September 24, the monitoring found that "the new rules lead to artificial price inflation, restriction of choice for passengers, lack of equal opportunities for licensed taxi service providers, economic losses for drivers, and the emergence of social discontent."

The new tariff policy being applied does not comply with Article 25 (Right to Equality) and Article 59 (Right to Free Entrepreneurship) of the Constitution of Azerbaijan, as well as the provisions of the Competition Code.

The Ombudsman will send an appeal to the relevant state bodies based on the monitoring data with the aim of ensuring the constitutional rights of citizens, forming tariffs based on a transparent and fair mechanism, creating equal opportunities for all licensed taxi services, and protecting the competitive environment, the press release concludes.

It should be noted that this is a rare case in Azerbaijani practice when the Ombudsman publicly steps in to defend the rights and interests of citizens.