ADUSBEF/AUTOSTRADE - REMOVAL OF ABUSIVE CONDUCT
PRESS RELEASE
The Italian Competition Authority appraised positively the plan submitted by Autostrade in order to remedy its own infringements, in compliance with the decision adopted by the Authority last July, which provided for a cease and desist order to the company to encourage the entry of new providers into the market of the roadside assistance services on the highway network. As such, the exclusive right given to ACI (Automobile Club of Italy) by Autostrade to supply roadside assistance service, both all over the highway network and over the single highway route, is eliminated. In addition, new operators, different from ACI, are allowed to provide a universal roadside assistance service.
Autostrade, in fact, undertakes to permit the entry of other authorized operators, which meet predetermined technical and professional requirements, guarantee adequate levels of quality in performing services, comply with informative obligations imposed on the radio rooms of the route directions and, finally, do not apply to users tariffs which are higher than a fixed maximum threshold.
Autostrade provided that the roadside assistance service is organized in such a way as to satisfy both calls for generic assistance and calls for personal assistance. To this end, Autostrade decided to assign the single call for generic assistance to the operator who ensures a universal service. Whether more operators were able to guarantee such a service, the intervention would be assigned to the provider who can guarantee a timely service, in relation to the car's breakdown place and the direction of march. As regards the calls for personal assistance, the intervention must be assigned to the radio relay unit responsible for the requested service, as long as it is authorized and able to provide such a service in time. However, assistance cannot be supplied if and when a car-accident occurred and held up the traffic, or was in a dangerous position. In this case, the roadside assistance service must be provided by the operator who is responsible for the universal service.
Autostrade's plan constitutes a completely different organizational model of roadside assistance service and contributes concretely to the creation of competitive mechanisms in this market, through the adoption of measures that encourage the entry of new operators. In this sense, it is to be noted that several firms are willing to access the market of the roadside assistance service. The new organization of such a service can be to consumer's advantage, given that users will be able to call on the road service provider they prefer, in the same way as in other European countries. Indeed, the entry of new operators will increase also the overall efficiency of the service, as well as stimulate ACI to be more competitive. Moreover, Autostrade provided that the road service operators compete also to perform services in the view of the public service, by ensuring assistance even over the routes which are more difficult to be served and less profitable. Such a new organizational model seems therefore to be able to develop competition with regards to the service quality also in relation to the universal service.
Lastly, it is to be noted that Autostrade cancelled the concessions stipulated with ACI and planned to proceed to reassign the roadside assistance service on the highway network for a year, starting from January 1997.