Hanoi municipal authorities, with the help of hired consultants, have placed new regulations on taxis and other transport companies.
Taxi management project aims to prevent overcharging
The Department of Transport, along with their consultants, formed a board on transport management which came up with a plan with an outlook toward 2030. The aim of the plan is to reduce traffic and improve the quality of service and safety.
There were some conciliations made to the taxi companies. For example, a rule that would have required the colour of all taxis to be the same was scrapped because of concerns by large, reputable cab companies. They feared problems with their brand recognition, management issues, as well as the cost of repainting their entire fleets.
Local authorities still decided to go forward with a system to monitor the number of taxis operating within the city, and record any violations. The plan involves a standardisation of pick-up points and meter rates.
Licensing of companies will also be more tightly controlled. The department will decide each year how many taxis should be in operation and will take this into account when deciding whether or not to grant new companies licenses.
For the freight transport industry, stations will be regularly inspected in order to keep track of the quality and safety of vehicles in operation. For any violations, a detailed set of standardised sanctions will be put into place.
In the past the Department of Transport made ring road number 3 the border, within which the Hanoi municipal authorities had jurisdiction. The taxis outside were not allowed operate inside this border. According to the new plan, city taxi companies will be able to cross this border as long as they pay an infrastructure fee.
The plan also calls for an automated receipt system to prevent overcharging. Each receipt must have information about the taxi company and travel time.
