Vietnamese authorities and members of the taxi industry in Ho Chi MinhCity are developing taxi apps to compete with Uber, which allowsindividuals to set up their own on-call taxi service.
Underpressure from the availability and expansion of taxi apps Uber, GrabTaxiand EasyTaxi, the HCM City Department of Science and Technology hasintroduced the taxi app LiveTaxi, which helps passengers find a taxi,and monitors their journey, distance and travelling cost on smartphonesvia the internet and SMS.
During a meeting held on December 18 atHCM City's Department of Transport, officials and scientists from theDepartment of Science and Technology and Huy Hoang companies, whichdeveloped the LiveTaxi app, reported initial success of the projectafter it was tested in the city.
However, some areas needimprovement, including information security for both taxi companies andtravellers, installation of GPS, calculation of charges and others.
Accordingto local officials, when the domestic-made taxi app is launched andapplied widely, it will be the main competitor of Uber in Vietnam.
Theapp, which is expected to protect taxi riders from being cheated, willbe different from Uber as it will be managed by taxi companies.
NguyenThi Thanh Nga, of the Department of Science and Technology, said theproject aimed to protect consumers, adding that her department hadreceived numerous complaints about cheating by drivers of various taxicompanies.
Several countries in the region manage taxi transport better than Vietnam, she said.
Information about the app's feasibility and the time for it to be launched widely were not revealed during the meeting.
Officials said the departments would organise several other meetings to discuss the taxi app in the near future.
HCM City will be the first locality in Vietnam where the app will be launched, officials said.
DoanLe Minh, Director of Huy Hoang Company, which was assigned to developthe LiveTaxi app, said he was confident that the app could be launchedeven when travellers do not have an Internet or 3G connection.
"Technology used in LiveTaxi is the same as other apps developed by leading countries," Minh said.
TheUber network was launched in 2009 and operates in 232 cities in 50countries. It began in Vietnam in July, rapidly expanding in HCM City bybeating established taxi services on both price and availability.
Thoseusing the Uber network pay on average about 20 percent less thanregulated cab fares, but are required to use international currencycards such as MasterCard and Visa. In turn, the vehicle owner pays a 20percent commission to Uber.
The HCM City Taxi Association,members of which have been hit by the expansion of Uber services, askedfor an urgent solution to the new competitor.
The associationrepeated its petition to have Uber's operations suspended until it meetslegal conditions to offer transport services.
Duong Hong Thanh,Deputy Director of HCM City Department of Transport, said the two majortaxi companies in the city, Mai Linh and Vinasun, have also begunresearching taxi-app information.
At a meeting introducing theapp to the HCM City Taxi Association, Thanh told taxi companies andsoftware developers in the city that "we should say thanks to Taxi Uber,which motivated us to research and move forward."
In a relatedmatter, all taxis in HCM City must have GPS installed in their cars sotheir location can be monitored by their companies, the city has said.-VNA
Underpressure from the availability and expansion of taxi apps Uber, GrabTaxiand EasyTaxi, the HCM City Department of Science and Technology hasintroduced the taxi app LiveTaxi, which helps passengers find a taxi,and monitors their journey, distance and travelling cost on smartphonesvia the internet and SMS.
During a meeting held on December 18 atHCM City's Department of Transport, officials and scientists from theDepartment of Science and Technology and Huy Hoang companies, whichdeveloped the LiveTaxi app, reported initial success of the projectafter it was tested in the city.
However, some areas needimprovement, including information security for both taxi companies andtravellers, installation of GPS, calculation of charges and others.
Accordingto local officials, when the domestic-made taxi app is launched andapplied widely, it will be the main competitor of Uber in Vietnam.
Theapp, which is expected to protect taxi riders from being cheated, willbe different from Uber as it will be managed by taxi companies.
NguyenThi Thanh Nga, of the Department of Science and Technology, said theproject aimed to protect consumers, adding that her department hadreceived numerous complaints about cheating by drivers of various taxicompanies.
Several countries in the region manage taxi transport better than Vietnam, she said.
Information about the app's feasibility and the time for it to be launched widely were not revealed during the meeting.
Officials said the departments would organise several other meetings to discuss the taxi app in the near future.
HCM City will be the first locality in Vietnam where the app will be launched, officials said.
DoanLe Minh, Director of Huy Hoang Company, which was assigned to developthe LiveTaxi app, said he was confident that the app could be launchedeven when travellers do not have an Internet or 3G connection.
"Technology used in LiveTaxi is the same as other apps developed by leading countries," Minh said.
TheUber network was launched in 2009 and operates in 232 cities in 50countries. It began in Vietnam in July, rapidly expanding in HCM City bybeating established taxi services on both price and availability.
Thoseusing the Uber network pay on average about 20 percent less thanregulated cab fares, but are required to use international currencycards such as MasterCard and Visa. In turn, the vehicle owner pays a 20percent commission to Uber.
The HCM City Taxi Association,members of which have been hit by the expansion of Uber services, askedfor an urgent solution to the new competitor.
The associationrepeated its petition to have Uber's operations suspended until it meetslegal conditions to offer transport services.
Duong Hong Thanh,Deputy Director of HCM City Department of Transport, said the two majortaxi companies in the city, Mai Linh and Vinasun, have also begunresearching taxi-app information.
At a meeting introducing theapp to the HCM City Taxi Association, Thanh told taxi companies andsoftware developers in the city that "we should say thanks to Taxi Uber,which motivated us to research and move forward."
In a relatedmatter, all taxis in HCM City must have GPS installed in their cars sotheir location can be monitored by their companies, the city has said.-VNA
