Society

HCM City takes action on illegal taxi services

Inspectors from the Ho Chi Minh City’s Department of Transport begin to inspect taxis on January 5, including those operated by Uber, and penalise those being driven illegally.
Inspectors from the Ho Chi Minh City’s Department of Transport begin toinspect taxis on January 5, including those operated by Uber, andpenalise those being driven illegally.

A municipal transportofficial told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper that taxis without insignias,logos and meters would be fined. Inspectors from the department havealready fined 11 taxis, including several that charged taxi fees basedon messages from passengers' mobile phones.

The city Departmentof Transport's deputy chief inspector Le Hong Viet told the newspaperthat Uber was currently illegal because it did not meet currenttransport and traffic regulations and created unfair competitivenesswith licensed transport businesses.

However, he said that if mostof the public viewed the service as a convenience and supported it,authorities and relevant agencies should study specific conditions underwhich Uber's operations could be legal in Vietnam.

TransportMinister Dinh La Thang said after working with relevant ministries,agencies and representatives from Uber that Uber had registered inVietnam as a technology business, rather than a transportationenterprise. Therefore, Uber should sign a contract with qualifiedtransport enterprises to meet conditions for licences, vehicles andlabour so that its transportation related activity could become legal inVietnam, the minister said.

The ministry also asked transportenterprises contracting with Uber to abide by current regulations,saying that both scheduled and surprise inspections would be carried outby the ministry's inspectors. Violators would be fined and Uber wouldalso have to take responsibility for the violations.

Accordingto Tuoi Tre, Jordan Condo, Asia Pacific head of Public Policy at Uber,told Minister of Transport Dinh La Thang in a letter that the companysought to partner with the ministry.

He said he would soon meet relevant agencies to discuss Uber's management and operation in Vietnam.

Thecompany is also looking at working with the ministry to develop appsfor water transport, with the aim of increasing transportationeffectiveness and reducing traffic congestion.-VNA
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