Taxi firms call for support as drivers quit
Many taxi companies are calling for support from the government amid rising fuel costs and drivers deciding to resign following the Covid-19 pandemic.
Many taxi companies are calling for support from the government amid rising fuel costs and drivers deciding to resign following the Covid-19 pandemic.
Nguyen Van Hung has worked as a taxi driver in Hanoi for seven years. He said he has been facing the most difficult time in his career since the Covid-19 pandemic occurred.
"Many of our colleagues have turned to other work after continuous social distancing measures were applied for Covid-19 prevention," Hung said. "I've returned to work after the pandemic was recently brought under control. However, we're facing another big challenge coming from rising petrol prices, which is badly affecting our income.
The driver said that he was thinking of finding another job.
Another driver, Nguyen Thanh Hoang who is working for the app-based Grab Company also said that his income had sharply fallen as petrol prices kept rising.
"I'm having to spend double for petrol while our earnings stay the same," he said. "Many of our drivers have quit to look for other jobs."
Explaining the situation, Dang Tuan Anh, chairman of Phu Dong Trade and Tourism Company which manages the Thanh Loi Taxi brand, said that most of the taxi drivers were migrant workers in Hanoi and they had to return to their hometowns during social distancing. During that time, many of them turned to other work.
"Although we have resumed operations, many drivers haven't returned," he said. "Rising petrol prices and soaring food costs have made life in Hanoi more difficult for them."
Anh said that they used to have nearly 600 drivers but up to 400 of them have left since the Covid-19 pandemic.
"We've had to sell many cars to repay our bank loans," he said.
Sharing the same situation, a representative of Mai Linh Taxi Group also said that they had 1,300 taxi cars but some 500 don't have drivers.
"At present, we can only serve between 60-70 percent of our calls while we're trying to employ new drivers," he said.
Hanoi Taxi Association Chairman Nguyen Cong Hung, said that the city had over 17,000 taxis operating before the Covid-19 pandemic occurred two years ago. However, some 7,000 vehicles have been recently left idle due to a lack of drivers.
Seeking government support
To help ease the difficulties for local transportation firms, Chairman of Vietnam Automobile Transport Association, Nguyen Van Quyen, has proposed to the government to waive road maintenance fees until the end of 2022.
Deputy director of Mai Linh Northern, Nguyen Van Trung, said that they had faced lots of challenges maintaining operations during the Covid-19 pandemic and now difficulties are coming from rising fuel prices and falling number of drivers.
"It's difficult to access the government's recovery loan packages which require higher revenues and collateral than what we have now," he said.
According to Chairman of Hanoi Taxi Association, Nguyen Cong Hung, revenues of transportation firms are now still low, at only between 15-20 per cent compared to the pre-pandemic time.
"We hope that the government will soon provide support programmes so that companies can continue operations and more drivers will stay," Hung said. "We also propose that the State Bank should extend loans for the companies until December 31 so that they have more time to rearrange finance."
Leave your comment on this story