Precedent from the AMCU: how BlaBlaCar changed its fee policy and what now awaits Rozetka and Bolt
29 October 2025 21:43
After almost a year of inspections, the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (AMCU) has obtained from BlaBlaCar clearer rules for refunding service fees for canceled trips and reducing its maximum limit by 13% for short routes. This is reported by "Komersant Ukrainian", citing information from the agency.
This is the first time in Ukraine that a state regulator has forced a large digital platform to rewrite its own rules.
What the AMCU found
In December 2024, the Committee found that BlaBlaCar’s approaches to charging and refunding service fees were blurred: in some cases, the fee was refunded, in others, it was not, without transparent criteria. This was qualified as a risk to competition. In March, a company (I-Travels LLC) was fined UAH 424,500 for failing to provide data within 15 days. BlaBlaCar explained the delay as an internal failure, not intentional neglect.
What was fixed
on October 23, the AMCU recognized the implementation of the recommendations: the platform proved the economic feasibility of the fee, rewrote the refund terms and published a clear algorithm on the website. Additionally, on its own initiative, it reduced the service fee for short trips by 13%. As a reminder, in 2024, the average service fee reached about 22%, Olgerd Schileiko, Head of BlaBlaCar CEE, told Forbes.
Read also: BlaBlaCar is suspected of monopolizing the car rental market
BlaBlaCar has reduced the service fee and updated the rules: why it is important
Lawyers call the case a marker. According to LCF partner Sergiy Benedysyuk, this is the first time that the AMCU’s interest has led to changes in the rules of a global platform in Ukraine. Nobles partner Oleksandr Alekseenko added that “selective or non-transparent refunds can now be interpreted not only as a violation of consumer rights, but also as an element of possible abuse of dominance. In other words, the “gray area” has suddenly become black and white.”
Where regulation can go from here
The AMCU publicly identified control over digital markets as one of its priorities in 2024. If this line continues, the next step is to form a Ukrainian analog of the European Digital Markets Act: more transparency of algorithms, rules for access to data, and interaction between platforms and business users. For large e-commerce companies, this is a signal to strengthen compliance and user trust in advance.
BlaBlaCar rewrote the rules after pressure from the AMCU: what it means for all platforms
Forbes Ukraine reached out to Rozetka, Prom.ua, OLX, Bolt, Uber, Uklon, Glovo, and GetmanCar. Some of them responded:
Uber, Bolt, and Glovo, according to Uber representative Oles Dmytrenko, are jointly developing clear and equal rules, are ready to be tax agents (bills #14025 and #14026), and exchange data under the DAC7 directive.
Uklon said it is constantly updating its terms of use based on best practices for transparency and user protection.
Rozetka declined to comment.
Currently, lawyers predict that companies that proactively update their transparency policies without the AMCU’s orders can avoid proceedings and fines, as BlaBlaCar actually did. If the market continues to “not hear the hints,” the regulator is quite capable of enacting a stricter regime based on the European model.
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What you need to know about BlaBlaCar
BlaBlaCar is one of the most famous and successful digital platforms in the world of ride-sharing. The company was founded in 2006 in France and is headquartered in Paris. Over nearly two decades of existence, the service has grown into a global platform that connects drivers and passengers in more than twenty countries, including Ukraine. The operating model is simple: a driver who has free seats in the car offers a route, date, and cost of the trip, and the passenger books a seat online. BlaBlaCar is not a taxi service, as it focuses on long-distance routes and is built on the principles of resource sharing.
BlaBlaCar appeared in Ukraine in 2014, when the company acquired Ukrainian startup Podorozhnyky. Today, the platform has an office in Kyiv and attracts millions of users who regularly travel within the country and abroad. The Ukrainian market has become one of the fastest growing in Eastern Europe, not only because of the growing mobility of the population, but also because of the trust in the service provided by the system of ratings, reviews, and user verification.
Over the years, BlaBlaCar has significantly expanded its business model. During the pandemic, the company focused on diversification and began offering bus transportation, and in 2021 acquired Octobus, a Ukrainian IT company that develops digital solutions for bus operators. In this way, BlaBlaCar has moved from carpooling (joint car trips when the driver and passengers share fuel costs and choose a convenient route – ed.) to a full-fledged transportation ecosystem that includes buses, trains, and digital services for transportation operators.
In the social aspect, the company did not stay away from the war in Ukraine. Already in 2022, BlaBlaCar officially announced the suspension of all investments in Russian business and launched support programs for Ukrainian users and employees, including financial, logistical, and psychological assistance, as well as free rides for refugees. This step emphasized the brand’s reputation as a responsible international player.
BlaBlaCar’s strengths include a large-scale global network, a proven business model, a loyal user community, and the ability to quickly adapt to new market conditions. The company not only provides a ride-sharing service, but also actively fosters a culture of shared consumption, where cost reduction is combined with environmental care.
However, there are no shortage of challenges. BlaBlaCar faces competition from other mobile services, legal differences between countries, and the need to constantly improve the transparency of its rules. This is especially true for the Ukrainian market after the intervention of the Antimonopoly Committee, which forced the company to change its service fee refund policy. This case became a landmark: it showed that digital platforms can no longer remain outside the regulatory field and must operate according to clear, public standards.
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