Star rating for passenger vehicles not only helps passengers distinguish the quality of service between transport units but also helps businesses measure the level of passenger satisfaction. However, should this be mandatory?
Encourage disclosure of service quality
For more than 2 years, Ha Son - Hai Van Transport Company Limited has introduced 5-star standard lounge service to serve passengers like VIP lounges at airports.
While waiting for the bus to depart, passengers can sit and drink coffee, enjoy about 20 types of free food and drinks, and use modern amenities.
In recent times, many transport units have developed and announced service quality standards to impress passengers. Photo: Ta Hai.
Mr. Le Viet Son, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the company, shared that the VIP lounge system received high appreciation from customers. The number of customers using the VIP lounge service is up to more than 800,000 customers/year.
For the convenience of customers, the company has introduced smart ticket booking applications via app and website, and used shuttle buses to pick up and drop off customers at home in some areas.
In recent times, many transport units have followed the Ha Son - Hai Van approach by establishing and announcing quality standards for VIP, high-quality, "air-to-ground" car services to impress passengers. However, the number of businesses that do this is not large.
According to statistics from the Vietnam Road Administration, the country currently has 86,000 transport businesses with more than 921,000 vehicles. Most of the businesses are small and fragmented, so the management of safety conditions and service quality has not received due attention.
In accordance with the 2024 Road Law, the Ministry of Transport has just issued Circular No. 36/2024 regulating the organization and management of automobile transport activities and the operation of bus stations, parking lots, and rest stops.
It stipulates: Business units transporting passengers on fixed routes, public passenger transport by bus, by taxi must develop and publish standards for transport service quality.
A representative of the Vietnam Road Administration said that the regulation aims to encourage transport units to build and publicize service quality including: Vehicle quality; drivers and service staff; itinerary; organization and management of the unit; and passenger benefits.
"For example, businesses can list and announce service quality such as cold towels, free drinks on the bus, VIP waiting room, free snacks... to attract customers. The level of registration is up to the business to decide," said the representative.
Should it be mandatory?
Many opinions say that transportation business is conditional, instead of encouraging, standards on transportation service quality should be issued to strengthen management and supervision.
During the inspection trip in early 2024 at bus stations in Hanoi, the leaders of the Hanoi People's Committee suggested many solutions, including the issue of assigning stars to passenger cars to improve service quality.
Mr. Khuc Huu Thanh Hai, Director of Dat Cang Transport, Trade and Service Joint Stock Company, said that assigning stars to passenger cars is an opportunity for businesses to improve the quality of transportation services.
If there are clear criteria, businesses will compete fairly and transparently. At the same time, bus stations must also assign stars to match their transport activities.
Leaders of many transport companies also believe that post-inspection work should be assigned to the Department of Transport because this agency can manage both the quantity and quality of vehicles and grasp the service quality of businesses in the area.
However, according to a transport expert, in reality, large-scale transport units such as Van Minh, Mai Linh, Kumho - Samco... are all strong brands and are the choice of many customers. Therefore, customers are the ones who decide to assign stars, without the need for additional documents or regulations.
The state does not interfere in business activities.
According to Mr. Nguyen Van Quyen, Chairman of the Vietnam Automobile Transport Association, requiring service standards is a good idea.
However, the characteristics of the Vietnamese transportation sector are mostly small, scattered, cooperatives, and individual business households account for a large proportion. Therefore, the issuance of service quality standards is only a formality.
Furthermore, transportation services are highly abstract, and it is difficult to have a standard measure to test them. Meanwhile, service users have different quality needs, not everyone is the same.
According to Mr. Quyen, regulations on service quality should only be for guidance purposes, and businesses will proactively announce them to attract customers.
Regarding this issue, a representative of the Vietnam Road Administration said that it had previously been assigned to issue standards for the quality of passenger transport services by car (awarding stars to vehicles and dividing them into 5 categories from 1 to 5 stars).
However, this regulation was later removed because, according to the recommendation of the Vietnam Federation of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), the state does not interfere in the internal affairs of enterprises.
According to a representative of the Vietnam Road Administration, although it is not mandatory, when a transport unit has built, registered and announced service quality standards but does not comply with them, and is reported by passengers to the authorities, it will be punished according to the provisions of Decree 100/2020 for the violation of not ensuring service quality as registered.
Source: https://www.baogiaothong.vn/co-nen-gan-sao-cho-xe-khach-192241205222233925.htm
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