Hanoi
Carpooling services to be banned in Hanoi
The Hanoi’s People Committee has asked the Municipal Transport Department to ban carpooling services for contracted cars.
The committee said that it received a request from the Ministry of Transport to stop ride hailing platforms Uber and Grab from providing carpooling services. The committee repeated the ministry’s request, asking taxi firms in the pilot carpooling project not to implement similar activities.
The ministry also asked local departments of transport which have applied the pilot service to urge participating units to strictly implement regulations. The departments were also asked to inspect the compliance with the law and punish violators.
Hanoi was one of several locations selected by the Ministry of Transport for Uber and Grab to pilot the project. Grab started providing carpooling service GrabShare in Ho Chi Minh City in May and in Hanoi last month, which allows two passengers’ bookings to be completed in a single trip.
Grab said that this provided passengers with cheaper fares, helped drivers earn more and alleviated congestion. Uber had also planned to provide UberPOOL in the country, a service similar to GrabShare but has not yet rolled out the service.
Although the Ministry of Transport has requested GrabShare and UberPOOL to cease their carpooling activities, Grab is continuing the service. Grab and Uber in Vietnam have faced objections from traditional taxi firms who complained of unfair competition. However, the Ministry of Finance claimed this was inaccurate and instructed the General Department of Taxation to check cases for tax fraud and hand out punishment accordingly.
The ministry also asked local departments of transport which have applied the pilot service to urge participating units to strictly implement regulations. The departments were also asked to inspect the compliance with the law and punish violators.
Hanoi was one of several locations selected by the Ministry of Transport for Uber and Grab to pilot the project. Grab started providing carpooling service GrabShare in Ho Chi Minh City in May and in Hanoi last month, which allows two passengers’ bookings to be completed in a single trip.
Grab said that this provided passengers with cheaper fares, helped drivers earn more and alleviated congestion. Uber had also planned to provide UberPOOL in the country, a service similar to GrabShare but has not yet rolled out the service.
Although the Ministry of Transport has requested GrabShare and UberPOOL to cease their carpooling activities, Grab is continuing the service. Grab and Uber in Vietnam have faced objections from traditional taxi firms who complained of unfair competition. However, the Ministry of Finance claimed this was inaccurate and instructed the General Department of Taxation to check cases for tax fraud and hand out punishment accordingly.
