Taxi Associations from Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang sent recommendations to Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh on the new draft decree No.86 of the Ministry of Transport (MoT) setting out conditions for transportation business, including Grab management.
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In the draft decree, the Ministry of Transport considered three forms of transport business for passengers cars with less than nine seats as electronic taxi, electronic contract-based vehicle and electronic tourist transport vehicle. However, taxi associations have recommended to categorize all less-than-nine-seats vehicle for transport business as taxi.
Moreover, the associations argued that all transport business cars with less than nine seats need to have the same method for fare calculation, which is based on based on kilometers and minutes.
Meanwhile, the concept of electronic contract-based vehicle should be removed to avoid overlapping in definition, and create transparency.
Another recommendation was the imposition of base and ceiling fare for Grab, which is currently being applied in Indonesia.
All the three taxi associations voiced their opinions against the extension of Decision No.24, which pilots the application of technology in managing and connecting electronic contract-based passenger transportation.
Under the decision, Grab Taxi's services are allowed to operate in five cities and provinces, including Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Khanh Hoa, Da Nang and Quang Ninh
According to the taxi associations, Grab arrived in Vietnam in 2014 with charter capital of VND20 billion (US$867,110), however, the ride-hailing firm posted losses of VND938 billion (US$40.66 million) after two years implementing the pilot program.
As of 2017, Grab's losses increased by VND788 billion (US$34.17 million), while nearly 50,000 drivers purchased or rented cars to become Grab's partners.
In June, the MoT rejected Grab's proposal to expand its service network beyond the current five cities and provinces in the country. Before that, the ride-hailing firm had asked for permission to bring its service to a number of provinces and cities, including Ninh Thuan, Dong Thap and Gia Lai.
