Let the hoe drift, do not accept the hoe
Having been a driver for more than 20 years and driving a technology taxi for more than 5 years, but up to now, Mr. Nguyen Xuan Thu, residing in Ward 15, Tan Binh District, Ho Chi Minh City, expressed his disappointment: "If we do not count the time of the Covid-19 epidemic, it can be said that now is the most difficult period for taxi drivers, especially technology taxis, because the number of passengers has decreased, and many companies compete by reducing fares, while the discount rate of the company is still 25 - 30%. There are many cars on the road but few customers, moreover, the fare is cheap, my income is not enough to pay for the car installments, I always have to ask my wife for money to make up for it".
Mr. Le Van Quyen, a technology car driver living in District 7, Ho Chi Minh City, also complained: "Currently, technology car companies are trying to promote customers and put the burden on drivers. The fare is low, the discount for the company is high, the bonus is very difficult to achieve because there are few customers and the trips are not distributed regularly... I bought a car on installment to drive more at night but the more I drive, the more I lose, many times I accept long-distance trips but the price is low, not commensurate, so I have to cancel. Currently, some drivers have changed direction to find other jobs because driving technology cars for a whole day from 10 to 12 hours but the income is only about 300,000 - 350,000 VND, not deducting all expenses... In this situation, the only way is for technology car companies to reduce the discount so that drivers can survive and the company can survive, otherwise it will lead to a situation where customers have their trips canceled, causing a waste of waiting time".
The market has too many taxi companies, making the competition to keep customers more fierce.
Agreeing with this opinion, Mr. Nguyen Van Phuong, a technology car driver living in Binh Thanh District, Ho Chi Minh City, also suggested: "Businesses benefiting from 25% of trips is too high. I suggest that the management authorities should check whether this level is appropriate or not, because if the current price competition continues, drivers will suffer, they are willing to cancel the trip if they see no benefit. Although customers get a cheap price, the quality of service will decrease". Mr. TQT, a tourist living in Ho Chi Minh City, was also upset: "The other day I went to Hanoi, booked a technology car from Ho Tay restaurant to the old quarter, but after booking the car, it was canceled, so I had to take a traditional taxi to be faster, even though the price is higher".
Fare Fraud
Low fares, complicated operating conditions at the airport and time-consuming operations make technology car drivers reluctant to accept rides to pick up passengers at the airport. Nguyen Minh Duc, a Grab driver, shared: "If there is a ride to pick up passengers to the airport, it's okay, but when accepting rides to pick up passengers from the airport, most drivers are frustrated because of the low fares and long waiting lines. Meanwhile, many customers are not familiar with the pickup location, instructions take time and both customers and drivers are annoyed. Therefore, when taking customers to the airport, I turn off the next passenger pick-up mode to avoid accepting rides." Therefore, at the airport, many traditional "waving" taxi companies are dominant. However, customers have to pay higher fares and sometimes have to pay more for short trips.
Representative of Tan Son Nhat International Airport
Recently, the Inspectorate of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Transport and related units established an inspection team and discovered sophisticated tricks of some taxi drivers serving passenger transportation at Tan Son Nhat International Airport (HKQT) after information from the press about fraud and overcharging taxi fares. Accordingly, 2 taxis of Saigontourist Company under Saigontourist Transport Joint Stock Company and a taxi of Saigon Taxi Transport Company Limited were inspected by the working group and recorded that the fare meters on the vehicles were equipped with a device to distort the fare.
Specifically, on the gear lever of these taxis there is a control button (hidden by a layer of black leather) that can turn off the fare meter and when pressed can cause the fare on the meter to jump "dizzily", even 10 times higher than the actual price. The representative of Tan Son Nhat International Airport also informed that after receiving the inspection results from the Department of Transport Inspectorate, this unit held an urgent meeting with the relevant parties and made the decision to temporarily suspend the passenger transport service business by taxi at the port for the two above-mentioned enterprises. In addition, Saigontourist taxi company was also sued by Saigon Tourist Corporation (Saigontourist Group) for impersonating the brand.
According to a representative of Tan Son Nhat International Airport, there are currently many taxi companies operating passenger transport services at the airport. The taxi incident of the two above-mentioned violating units has greatly affected the reputation, image and brand of Tan Son Nhat Airport. "The port has complied with the regulations in the contract signed with the transport units serving at the port. If there are any violations, the company's operations will be suspended even if the violation occurs with one vehicle. The port will soon have a plan to rectify and monitor the service provision of taxi and technology car companies licensed to operate at the airport," said a representative of Tan Son Nhat International Airport.
Mr. Ta Long Hy, Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Taxi Association, commented: "The incident has shown the negative side of the taxi business in the form of car contracting, especially for small car companies that operate in the form of car contracting to drivers, so there is a lack of management. Meanwhile, official taxi companies have a management inspection process every morning, and even a small difference can be detected immediately, even after 10 minutes." "I think we need to re-examine and assign responsibility to the person in charge, the business leader. Drivers who have committed fraud and violations must be fired immediately, and regular inspections must be organized for taxi companies operating in the form of car contracting," Mr. Ta Long Hy suggested.
Fierce competition
According to a survey by Thanh Nien reporters, technology-based car companies are currently competing fiercely for market share. Technology-based car booking used to be the bread and butter of foreign companies, but now many domestic taxi companies have made efforts to "swim against the current". The Digital Consumer Report recently published by Decision Lab and Mobile Marketing Association Vietnam shows that after Grab (which is the leading ride-hailing app in Vietnam), Mai Linh App now has a significant user base, accounting for 29% in the first quarter and even higher than the rates of other ride-hailing apps such as Gojek (24%) or be (20%).
Another taxi company, Vinasun, also aims to increase the number of bookings via the app to 25,000 per day. If calculated for the whole year, the company can welcome up to 6.2 million passengers via this channel, surpassing traditional channels such as call centers (16,233 calls/day) or through marketing points (11,663 passengers/day). This company also aims to earn VND1,345 billion this year, an increase of 23.4% compared to last year. Not to mention the recent appearance of electric taxi company SM, which is also attracting a certain number of customers. The crowded market share, the number of domestic passengers tightening their spending while tourists have not yet recovered, makes the lives of drivers more difficult.
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