Taxi firms will have to replace black boxes

Under Decree 171, 800,000 transport vehicles (passenger car, taxi and truck) had to install black boxes prior to July 1, 2016. The installation cost was paid by transport firms, about VND3 trillion.

MOT has not only added the types of vehicles that must install black boxes, but also has set additional requirements on the information to be saved. 

This includes information about continuous driving time, working hours of drivers and driving images. With the new requirements, the old black boxes installed by drivers in 2016 will have to be replaced.

The installation and data transmission must be implemented no later than July 1, 2025.

The tentative regulation immediately faced strong opposition from taxi firms which said the regulation is contrary to the government’s instruction on simplifying and reducing the number of administrative procedures and business conditions.

The cost is a major reason behind the opposition. 

The decree compilation committee estimated that 340,000 transport vehicles will have to replace or upgrade black boxes to satisfy the requirement on providing driving images. 

With the current black box price at VND4.5-5.5 million, the total cost to install new devices would be up to VND1.9 trillion. They will also have to pay VND500 billion a year to maintain server and transmission line.

Nguyen Van Thanh, chair of the Vietnam Automobile Transportation Association, said the requirement about black boxes was included in the latest decree draft and was not seen in previous drafts.

Chair of the Hanoi Automobile Transport Association Bui Danh Lien said that the association’s members have not been consulted about the additional requirement.

Lien said the black box should be considered a tool for enterprises to manage their own vehicles and not a tool for state management agencies to use to punish violators, except in some special cases.

Trillions of dong will be wasted if transport firms have to replace black boxes. This would be a heavy burden on firms which are facing difficulties because of fuel price increases.

Also in the draft decree, MOT repeated its view that using software to connect passengers and drivers, such as Grab, must be considered as a transport service.

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Thanh Lich