VietNamNet Bridge – Ha Noi authorities are planning a campaign to crack down on thousands of taxis that have licences from other provinces but operate in the city, the municipal Department of Transport has said.

Ha Noi authorities are planning a campaign to crack down on thousands of taxis that have licences from other provinces but operate in the city, the municipal Department of Transport has said. — Photo anninhthudo.vn

Chief inspector of the department, Tran Dang Hai, said that currently about 3,000 taxi cabs were operating without the required licences in Ha Noi, contributing to traffic chaos and unhealthy competition among taxi drivers.

In 2010, the department blocked taxi firms from adding to their fleets to curb the rapid increase in the number of taxis on the city’s streets. More than 17,000 taxis had already been licensed in the city by that time.

In order to skirt the law, many taxi firms registered their number plates in Ha Noi but got their taxi licence badges registered in surrounding provinces. Those taxi cabs with badges from other provinces would reportedly operate in the city instead of their registered locations.

Thus, the number of taxis operating in the city continued to rise in the past several years although the authorities ceased granting licenses to new companies, according to the department official.

These taxi cabs were from Bac Ninh, Vinh Phuc, Hung Yen, Hoa Binh, Nam Dinh and Ha Nam provinces, the official said.

In Bac Ninh Province, 870 taxi cabs licensed by the province are operating in Ha Noi. Le Ngoc Tuyen, director of the provincial Department of Transport said that police could not give penalties on these taxis as there were no regulations limiting their location of operation.

He said the department would set up an interdisciplinary team to inspect the operation of local taxi firms. He also suggested that Ha Noi’s transport sector should work with the transport departments of surrounding provinces to draft solutions.

Major Nguyen Tuan Anh, deputy head of Ha Noi’s Police Department’s Dissemination Unit said the high number of taxis caused traffic problems in the city, adding work for police at key traffic points during peak hours.

"It is necessary to set penalties for taxis licensed by other provinces but operating in the city as the traffic pressure on the city is quite high," said Tuan Anh.

Currently, roughly 600,000 cars, 5.2 million motorbikes, 100,000 electric motorbikes, and 17,000 taxis are operating on Ha Noi’s roads.

Nguyen The Hung, vice chairman of the city’s People’s Committee said the city assigned the Department of Transport to quickly set up a roadmap to give fines for this kind of violation.

VNS