E-hailing cab projects not stopped, says ministry

June 22, 2017 | 09:22

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The Ministry of Transport on Tuesday clarified on its website that it has not issued any instructions to stop the pilot implementation of passenger e-hailing projects such as Grab and Uber.

A user calls a taxi via Grab application. - Photo dantri.com.vn

The ministry issued the note after several online newspapers published reports recently that the pilot e-hailing project has been halted.

As of May, subsequent to Decision No 24/QĐ-BGTVT, it has approved e-hailing projects of nine companies, including Grab Car, V.CAR, Thành Công Car, S.Car, VIC.CAR, HOME CAR, Uber Việt Nam, Mai Linh Car and LB.Car, the ministry said.

Initial results indicate that the use of technology in transportation has been highly appreciated by passengers and that it would gradually meet commuter needs better, the ministry revealed.

On October 19, 2015, the Prime Minister had given the transport ministry the go-ahead for the implementation of pilot projects that use technology for passenger transportation in contract cars.

Statistics with the ministry’s transportation department show that as of April, a total of 13,500 under-nine-seat cars are part of the projects in Hà Nội, HCM City and Khánh Hòa.

In Hà Nội, 7,000 cars and 19,200 traditional taxis have joined these e-hailing projects. The figures in HCM City are 22,000 and 11,000, respectively.

As more and more cars join e-hailing services, especially Uber and Grab, traditional taxi companies, associations and local transport management agencies are demanding that the Government stop these projects as they are expanding out of control, and putting a pressure on the transport infrastructure, besides being unfair to traditional taxi businesses.

Previously, the ministry has admitted that the number of cars joining the e-hailing projects was increasing rapidly and that it would tighten their management. In the draft amendments to Decree 86 on transportation management, the ministry has put Uber and Grab into items for management.

On May 15, traditional taxi firm Vinasun proposed that the operations of Uber and Grab in Việt Nam be reviewed and measures taken to tighten their management so as to ensure fair competition.

In response, the ministry said that it supports transportation firms that comply with regulations and use applications to improve quality of service and business efficiency.

Recently, the HCM City Taxi Association demanded that Grab Taxi’s GrabShare feature, which was launched in HCM City on May 9 and in Hà Nội on June 8, be stopped.