Grab have petitioned Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc to oppose the Ministry of Transport’s proposal to amend the operation of app-based taxi services.

Grab currently serves 20% of the Vietnamese population and created jobs for 175,000 local drivers

This is Grab’s response after the Ministry of Transport has submitted the latest amended draft Decree 86 which proposes app-based taxi cars with less than nine seats should be treated the same as conventional taxis.   

Under the draft decree, ride-hailing companies will have a taxi car sign on their windscreen; list full information on the vehicle as prescribed; and there must have a lit taxi sign fixed to the roof of their cars.

In the letter sent to the PM, Grab Vietnam Country Head Lim Yen Hock said that technology had contributed to developing Vietnam’s transport sector. So Grab were extremely surprised and concerned about the Ministry of Transport’s recommendations.

Lim added that Grab currently serves 20% of the population and created jobs for 175,000 local drivers. Meanwhile, Grab’s annual tax payment has increased three-fold. In the first nine months of this year, Grab paid VND270 billion (USD12.27 million) in taxes and the figure is expected at VND500 billion (USD22.72 million) for the whole year.

Many Vietnamese taxi firms have co-operated with Grab. However, some firms have struggled to compete with this new way of operating, the Grab representative highlighted.

According to Lim, the approval of the revised draft decree would go against international technology trends. It would be also seen as a hurdle in the Vietnamese business environment.

He hoped that Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc would carefully consider the proposal by the Ministry of Transport.

Dtinews