The Competition Tribunal accepted a lawsuit by the National Economic Prosecutor’s Office against Empresa de Transportes Rurales Limitada (“Tur Bus”), Servicios Pullman Bus Costa Central S.A. (“Pullman Costa”), Transporte Cometa S.A. (“Transportes Cometa”) and Sociedad de Transportes y Turismo del Norte y Compañía Limitada (“Romani”), for infringing Article 3 of Decree Law N° 211 by executing coordinated actions that tended to block access competitors’ access to bus terminals in the cities of Valparaíso, Coquimbo, La Serena and Antofagasta, thereby delaying or preventing entry of new competitors to the market of interurban transportation services to and from those cities.
Taking into consideration the conciliatory agreements reached between the National Economic Prosecutor’s Office and the defendants, the Tribunal focused its ruling in the legal classification and the participation of the defendants in the recognized acts.
The decision stated that it was credited that, in order to have access to the aforementioned bus terminals, an office in the terminal is needed, and any attempt to unjustifiably block competitors’ access to offices could be construed as an attempt to raise rivals’ costs with the objective of maintaining or strengthening a joint dominant position, which can hinder or even prevent free competition.
The existence of an agreement between the defendants to block the entrance of potential competitors –and particularly Línea Azul– to the interurban bus terminals in the cities of Valparaíso, Coquimbo, La Serena and Carlos Oviedo Cavada Terminal in Antofagasta, with the object and effect of restricting competition in transport services to and from those cities, was also proven.
The Tribunal ordered the defendants to comply strictly and fully to the conciliation agreements reached with the National Economic Prosecutor’s Office, and fined them with the maximum amounts in said agreement; that is: Servicios Pullman Bus Costa Central, 675 Annual Tributary Units; Transportes Cometa S.A., 1,125 Annual Tributary Units; Empresa de Transportes Rurales Limitada, 1,800 Annual Tributary Units; Sociedad de Transportes y Turismo del Norte y Compañía Limitada, 52 Annual Tributary Units. The Tribunal did not order the defendants to pay costs, given the conciliation agreements reached with the National Economic Prosecutor’s Office.