Khanh Hoa to crack down on taxi services

Vice Chairman of Khanh Hoa Province has asked the police, Department of Transportation and Nha Trang’s authorities to tighten management over transportation services after overcharging incidents.

Vice Chairman of Khanh Hoa Province People's Committee Tran Son Hai has asked the police, Department of Transportation and Nha Trang’s authorities to tighten management over transportation services, especially taxi firms, after overcharging incidents.

   

Tourists in Nha Trang

Hai demanded local authorities to strictly punish violations and withdraw business licenses if necessary.

Nguyen Van Thanh, vice head of Nha Trang-Khanh Hoa Province Tourism Association said, "Let's not mention a business's reputation yet, on the moral ground alone, overcharging is unacceptable. What will the tourists think?"

In July, Nha Trang-Khanh Hoa Province Tourism Association filed a report about a local taxi driver who charged three South Korean tourists VND200,000 (USD8.70) compared to a usual price of around VND25,000 for a trip from Havana Nha Trang Hotel to Rosaka Nha Trang Hotel. The driver also insulted the tourists and threatened the hotel guard.

The driver was later identified as Nguyen Than. He works for Dinh Thinh Thanh Tuyen who hasn't been granted the business licence to running taxi service and was fined VND8.5m (USD340).

In September 2017, a Chinese tourist went to the police to report about being charged VND6m (USD240) for a less than 6-km trip even though it was only VND62,000 on the taxi meter. The driver at first forced the tourist to pay VND7.1m. Being scared by the driver's threats, the tourist paid VND3m and was forced to pay another VND3m to be let out of the taxi.

The police quickly found the driver and made him return the money.

Khanh Hoa Department of Tourism said overcharging incidents had badly affected Nha Trang's tourism. The Department of Transportation was asked to manage the taxi service and build a management plan and find unlicensed businesses.