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Japanese firms denounce unlicensed HCM City airport taxis
  • | dtinews.vn, nld | December 02, 2022 05:17 PM

Japanese businesses operating in HCM City have complained about the operation of unlicensed taxis at Tan Son Nhat Airport.

The complaints were made at a recent meeting co-held by the HCM City Investment and Trade Promotion Centre (ITPC) and the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Vietnam (JCCI).



Representative from the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Vietnam at the meeting.

Attending the meeting, a JCCI representative said that unlicensed taxis are causing some problems at Tan Son Nhat Airport including high fares and robberies.

"Statistics from the Japanese Consulate in HCM City showed that there have been 12 cases so far this year including five cases in October alone," the representative said.


"To better ensure safety and fairness for local people and visitors, including foreign visitors, we propose that HCM City authorities more strictly punish violating drivers," he said. "Taxis should be asked to introduce their name and their company's name as well as the vehicle's registered number to passengers before any trip."

Talking about the problem, the deputy director of the HCM City Transport Department, Bui Hoa An, noted that unlicensed taxis were banned from operating in the city and people could call the city's hotline 1022 to report any violations.

"Passengers are advised to book taxis online through apps but not call taxis on the road," he said.

Vice chairman of HCM City People's Committee, Vo Van Hoan, speaks at the meeting

Vice chairman of HCM City People's Committee, Vo Van Hoan, said that the problem raised by Japanese firms seemed small but would also affect the city's business and tourism environment.


"We should pay attention to solve these little problems if we want to attract more foreign investors and tourists to the city," Hoan said.

Admitting some problems relating to taxi services at the airport, a representative from Tan Son Nhat Airport said that they would intensify measures to deal with the issue.

"We'll also widely publicise our hotline to receive feedback from passengers for better services," the representative said.

JCCI also proposed that HCM City should have a hotline that can support visitors in several other languages besides English. The city authorities should also launch some other channels including email, Viber, Zalo, and Facebook to receive comments or proposals from investors and tourists.

Tan Son Nhat Airport is receiving an increasing number of passengers after the Covid-19 pandemic is controlled in the city. It is expected that the airport will serve some 30 million passengers this year while its designed capacity is just 28 million per year.

According to the airport, overloading at the airport has led to chaos and scams among taxi services.

Twelve taxi companies and app-based taxi services currently operate at the airport.

However, due to a shortage of cars, passengers have spent a lot of time waiting, causing congestion at the airport.

To ensure the necessary number of cars, the airport has required taxi companies to provide adequate vehicles to serve passengers.

The Ministry of Transport recently announced a plan to strengthen inspection and crack down on illegal practices by taxi drivers, such as aggressively soliciting passengers, overcharging or refusing to take passengers on short trips from the airport.

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