Cars must display taxi signs to provide passenger transportation services. — Photo Grab

The Ministry of Transportation has decided to end the pilot project applying technology in managing passenger transportation from April 1.

The operation of ride-hailing firms like Grab, FastGo, Be and Emdi would be regulated by Decree 10/2020/NĐ-CP covering automobile transportation business, which was issued in January and would come into force from the beginning of April.

Under the new decree, all vehicles with fewer than nine seats providing passenger transportation services will be managed like taxis. Accordingly, they must install a taxi sign on the roof, or a sign made of reflective material on the front and rear window.

The installation must be completed before July 1.

Ride-hailing cars must now have three signs: a contract car sign on the front windscreen, the logo of their firm and the above-mentioned taxi sign.

In addition, roof signs would not be compulsory for traditional taxis. Instead, they could choose to stick a taxi sign made of reflective material on the front and rear window like ride-hailing cars.

The Ministry of Transport asked municipal and provincial transportation departments of Hanoi, HCM City, Da Nang, Quang Ninh and Khanh Hoa, where the pilot project for tech-based cars was being carried out, to provide instructions to service providers on the new regulations.

According to Decree 10/2020/NĐ-CP, ride-hailing apps would only help connect passengers and drivers and could not directly operate cars and decide rates. They could only act as an intermediary providing technology platform for transportation businesses.

The pilot projects for tech-based cars were implemented following Decision 24/QĐ-BGTVT dated January 7, 2016, which allowed ride-hailing cars to operate in HCM City, Hanoi, Da Nang, Khanh Hoa and Quang Ninh. — VNS

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