VietNamNet Bridge - The Ministry of Transport (MOT) has given Grab taxi the green light on drafting a plan on allowing Grab taxi to ‘utilize technology to support the connection and management in passenger transport’ in a pilot program.

The taxi associations in Hanoi, Da Nang and HCM City, the three largest cities in Vietnam, all said they have lodged complaints to MOT, proposing to amend the draft document.

Ta Long Hy, chair of the HCM City Taxi Association, said that while the Prime Minister, in a dispatch to MOT, assigned the ministry, not any specified business, to implement the plan on utilizing technology to support the connection and management in passenger transport, the MOT’s document specified ‘Grab Taxi Company Ltd’. 

The company would be allowed to do this on a trial basis in Hanoi, Da Nang, HCM City, Khanh Hoa and Quang Ninh.

The taxi association fears this will create a monopoly and lack of fairness among transport enterprises.

According to Hy, at least two companies in every city and province should be allowed to provide services, and they should be non-Grab taxi companies, because Grab taxi has been found violating the regulation hundreds of times in HCM City.

Just from July 23 to September 14, state agencies in the city discovered and fined 121 cars owned by individuals and organizations cooperating with Grab Taxi to provide taxi services. The service providers did not show logos on car bodies, show the unit price, buy insurance for passengers, sign contracts and did not pay tax.

Hy said a question has been raised why iGrab Taxi, a Malaysian company, not any other Vietnamese, was allowed by MOT to provide services. Vinasun, a Vietnamese owned company, for example, has been providing services in Da Nang, Nha Trang and Vung Tau.

Meanwhile, Bui Danh Lien from the Hanoi Taxi Association, warned that the state will fail to collect tax from the cars providing services.

“I strongly believe that it is nearly impossible to collect tax from the service providers,” he said.

“If so, traditional taxi firms will be put at a disadvantage because they have to issue invoices and pay tax to the state,” he said.

Grab Car now charges passengers VND6,000 for every kilometer of travel, just equal to ½ of the fee set by traditional taxi firms. The low fee set by Grab Car is attributed to the fact that it does not have to pay tax to the state.

In reply, MOT has affirmed that not only Grab Taxi but any other firm which can satisfy the requirements can register with the ministry to provide services on a trial basis.

Dat Viet