Tengrinews.kz – The audit of the pricing system of the "Yandex.Taxi" service has been completed in Kazakhstan, according to the Agency for Protection and Development of Competition (APDC).
The audit was carried out as part of antimonopoly compliance measures, under which Yandex.Taxi was required to undergo an inspection. The purpose of the analysis was to study the pricing mechanisms, including parameters affecting ride costs, as well as the service's operational processes.
During the audit, the platform’s architecture and the principles of both base and dynamic pricing — particularly near airports and in remote areas of cities — were analyzed. The results revealed risks that could impact the final service cost. Some of these issues have already been addressed, while others Yandex has committed to resolving.
Changes in Yandex.Taxi operations
At the request of the APDC, Yandex revised the loyalty program rules for "Yandex+," ensuring that all costs related to discounts will now be covered by the service itself.
Additionally, Yandex committed to several compliance system changes, including:
- Notifying the agency three days in advance before raising tariffs and base ride prices;
- Excluding certain residential areas near airports from the airport tariff zone within a week;
- Maintaining the practice where no commission is charged on the portion of a fare exceeding double the base fare;
- Limiting fare commission increases in the "Economy" category to no more than once every two years in each city;
- Setting a limit so that no more than 5% of trips per quarter may exceed three times the base fare during peak periods;
- Updating how trip costs are displayed in sparsely populated areas;
- Adding more detailed price breakdowns in the app by June 30, 2025;
- Improving technical support and optimizing complaint handling.
Additional Measures
During periods of high demand in the "Economy" category, Yandex plans to test a virtual queue system. This will allow users to see how many people are waiting for a car and choose whether to wait, select another tariff, or opt for public transport.
Compliance monitoring of Yandex.Taxi’s obligations is being carried out by a monitoring group under the APDC, which includes representatives from government bodies, sectoral ministries, taxi associations, and public organizations.
Additionally, proposals have been sent to the government to amend legislation to simplify tax reporting for drivers operating under a special tax regime. It is expected that this will help increase drivers' incomes.