The illegal taxi business needs to be dealt with thoroughly.

Potential safety risks

At 4:30 AM, we arrived at the roundabout near Central Market 1 in Dien Bien Phu City . This was the time when inter-provincial sleeper buses were returning to the Dien Bien Phu City Bus Station and parking lot to drop off passengers. Here, it was easy to observe nearly 20 unlicensed taxis – without roof signs, badges, reflective markings, meters, or price lists – waiting to pick up passengers. Whenever someone got off at the sleeper bus stop, the drivers of these unlicensed taxis would rush forward, vying for customers and negotiating fares.

An unlicensed taxi is parked, waiting for customers in the area.

Central Market 1, Dien Bien Phu City

After standing for a long time without picking up any customers, a driver in a car with license plate 27A xxxxx parked near Central Market 1 asked us, "Where are you going? I can give you a ride." Seeing someone taking pictures of the surrounding area and his car, the driver quickly moved to another location. It was easy to see that this car had a white license plate (instead of the yellow one required for commercial transport vehicles), and no emblem or logo of any passenger transport company. Like many other unlicensed taxis, this car did not meet the legal requirements for passenger transport. Because they are not subject to regulation, unlicensed taxis operate freely, leading to negative consequences such as: Customers find it difficult to control prices, easily being overcharged or ripped off. Especially, the competition among unlicensed taxis for customers creates chaos and poses many potential traffic safety risks.

The area outside Dien Bien Airport always has unlicensed taxis parked alongside licensed taxis.

Currently, along the route around Dien Bien Phu Airport, there are also unlicensed taxi stands with around 10 vehicles parked daily. When asked, Mr. NTT, a resident of Dien Bien Phu City, while waiting for passengers arriving on a Hanoi -Dien Bien flight, said: “I bought this car and regularly wait for flights to land to pick up passengers. Because I haven't registered for transportation services, I can only park on the roadside to pick up passengers; the license plate is still white, not yet yellow. The price depends on the distance and the customer's appearance…”

Airports, bus stations, hotels, shopping malls, restaurants, and hospitals are bustling areas for unlicensed taxis. Some vehicles have taxi signs but their license plates are white, without any official transport company logos or emblems. According to these unlicensed taxi drivers, they mainly buy cars for family use, and when they don't have official business, they go to these areas to pick up passengers.

Mr. Tran Thanh Quan, Director of Phan Hai 89 Co., Ltd. (located in Pom Loi village, Nam Thanh ward, Dien Bien Phu city) said: "Our drivers not only compete with licensed taxi companies but also with unlicensed taxis. The blatant operation of unlicensed taxis, openly competing for customers for many years, has caused us great frustration."

Strict action is needed.

Currently, the province has 5 taxi transportation businesses, including: Xuan Long Tourism Joint Stock Company, Thong Lan Technology Taxi Joint Stock Company, Phan Hai 89 Limited Company, Hoa Binh Xanh Cooperative Branch in Dien Bien, and Mai Linh Technology Transportation Limited Company in Dien Bien, with a total of nearly 400 vehicles.

According to incomplete statistics, there are more than 100 unlicensed taxis operating in the province, mainly in Dien Bien Phu City and Tuan Giao District... The actual number may be higher because unlicensed taxis are found operating in all districts and cities, fiercely competing with licensed taxi companies; sometimes causing security and order issues, traffic safety problems, affecting customer rights, and resulting in tax revenue losses for the State.

Early in the morning, in the area around Central Market 1 in Dien Bien Phu City, many unlicensed taxis were parked, waiting for passengers.

Mr. Tong Duy Khoa, Chief Inspector of the Department of Transport, stated: Every year, the Department's Inspectorate issues a plan to ensure traffic safety and order in the business of transporting goods by car, including taxis. The Department also cooperates with the Provincial Police to prevent the problem of illegal taxis, but enforcement is very difficult. When they see law enforcement officers, drivers immediately remove the roof signs and drive away. Furthermore, proving that they are using family cars to transport passengers disguised as illegal taxis is not easy. In some cases, drivers claim to be picking up acquaintances or relatives and do not charge fares. Meanwhile, law enforcement officers lack images or video recordings of drivers negotiating fares with customers or customers paying drivers to have evidence to prosecute violations.

Unlicensed taxis with white license plates, no roof sign, and no logo wait for passengers near the central roundabout in Dien Bien Phu City.

Unlicensed taxis not only cause tax revenue losses for the State but also negatively impact the business environment for services and tourism. Authorities are, on the one hand, intensifying the dissemination of legal regulations on passenger transport by taxi to transport businesses, vehicle owners, drivers, and the public. On the other hand, they are strengthening inspections, controls, and strictly handling violations by unlicensed taxis to bring passenger transport by taxi into order, ensure traffic safety, and better serve the travel needs of the people.

Source: https://baodienbienphu.com.vn/tin-tuc/kinh-te/219146/can-xu-ly-triet-de-taxi-%E2%80%9Cdu%E2%80%9D