The Ministry of Transport (MoT) on Thursday rejected the Hanoi Taxi Association’s request to extend taxi licences for 12 months.

The Ministry of Transport (MoT) on Thursday rejected the Hanoi Taxi Association’s request to extend taxi licences for 12 months.— Photo tapchigiaothong.vn

A decree issued by the MoT in 2014 regulates that taxis can be licensed for up to eight years in Hanoi and HCM City and 12 years in other localities.

At present, the MoT is seeking opinions from taxi associations, taxi firms and related agencies to build regulations to replace the 2014 decree.

The Hanoi Taxi Association, in September, submitted a request to Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, the MoT and Hanoi People’s Committee, asking to extend the expiration dates of taxi badges for an additional 12 months while awaiting the new decree.

The association said the Hanoi Department of Transport had registered the taxis till December 31, 2017 for 2010-made cars owned by the city’s taxi firms without considering whether they were assembled at the beginning or end of the year.

Therefore, cars produced at the end of 2010 will be unreasonably forced to stop operation early, according to the association.

Extending the badge by 12 months would ease burdens on taxi associations and firms amidst fierce competition with ride-hailing services like Uber or Grab, they said in the request.

According to current regulations, every taxi has to use a badge granted by a State agency. The badge contains information on the taxi enterprise and has the car’s number plate printed on it. — VNS