Taxis were deregulated in July, 1990. This paper presents some of the Swedish Competition Ombudsman's (NO) experiences of this measure. Until today the most significant result seems to be an increase in prices. On the other hand, positive effects could be expected gradually; an increase in accessibility is already reported. During 1990 one third of the complaints concerned purchaser's behaviour. Often small taxi services felt that they had been excluded or not fairly treated in a purchase. In these cases the purchaser in general was a local authority. The paper then discusses the association of taxi services. These associations' main service is a central reservation system. However, these associations may prevent competition, e.g. when contracts are tendered for. Furthermore, they might boycott a taxi service that does compete, e.g. such a service could be excluded from the use of the central reservation system. If an association dominates the market it might increase prices or demand unjust specifications. The paper also discusses the behaviour of the local authority and concludes that it is important to promote the authorities' competence.
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