Residents say booking a car has become increasingly difficult in the days before the Lunar New Year, with ride-hailing applications frequently “spinning” for long periods while customers wait for a driver to accept.
Thanh, who lives in the former Binh Thanh District area, said she booked a car from the Landmark81 area to her home near Ba Chieu market at 5 pm but did not arrive until 7 pm.
“Normally, a car arrives in minutes, costing about VND 20,000, but near Tet, the wait is very long, and the fare doubles, or even more during peak hours,” she said.
Another resident, Lien, said her usual five-minute wait for a car from Vo Van Tan Street to her home on Lien Phuong Street, Phuoc Long Ward, stretched to 30 minutes, while fares rose by about VND 20,000 to VND 25,000 compared with normal days.
Even late-night commuters reported problems. Ha, who works on Pasteur Street, said she left the office at 9.30 pm to return to the former District 7, but found ride-hailing apps almost “frozen” and did not reach home until 11 pm.
Fares increase significantly near Tet, with customers reporting difficulty booking cars (Photo: Khong Chiem).
Alongside vehicle shortages, some customers also reported drivers demanding additional payments outside the application.
Lan, from Phuoc Long Ward, said she booked a motorbike delivery from Tan Son Nhat Airport to her home. Although the first driver accepted the trip for VND 120,000, he later demanded an extra VND 100,000, claiming the package was bulky.
A second driver quoted a fare of VND 113,000 in the app but called to request extra petrol money and insisted the fare shown on his screen was higher, which would have raised the final cost by about 40 per cent. Lan refused and eventually found a driver who delivered at the correct in-app price without demanding additional charges.
Another customer, Hoai Nam, said she paid an extra VND 19,000 after a driver overshot the delivery point and blamed her for giving the wrong address, despite the original price being VND 51,000.
Frustrated by the situation, she later chose to hire a private driver instead, paying around VND 40,000 to VND 50,000 per delivery to avoid disputes and delays.
