Electric tourist cars 'in storage', businesses in trouble

Over the past few months, hundreds of tourist electric cars in Da Nang and several other provinces have had to temporarily stop operating, causing difficulties for businesses and workers. Explaining this, the Da Nang Department of Construction said it was following general regulations.

Da Nang tourist electric cars are in storage, businesses are complaining of difficulties - Photo: HIEN LE

According to an electric vehicle business owner in Da Nang, this unit has been investing in tourist passenger vehicles for a while. In mid-February, the entire fleet had to stop operating because of an announcement that four-wheeled electric vehicles could only be driven on roads with a maximum speed of 30km/h.

Businesses say heavy damage

Since the vehicle operation was restricted, drivers and staff have been left without pay. The company has tried to motivate and retain workers to wait for the regulations to be lifted, but so far there has been no solution.

According to businesses operating electric tourist vehicles, the number of routes with a speed limit of 30km/h in Da Nang is very small. The new regulation restricting the operating range has caused hundreds of electric tourist vehicles to be "in storage", causing heavy losses for businesses.

In 2016, Da Nang was allowed by the Government to pilot the use of four-wheeled electric vehicles to transport tourists within a limited area.

There are 85 vehicles invested in and put into operation by four enterprises before 2017 and 15 vehicles invested in by two enterprises (out of four pilot enterprises) in December 2024.

Meanwhile in Khanh Hoa , the deputy general director of a company said that this business is operating 20 electric tourist cars in Nha Trang.

When the new regulation comes into effect, it will greatly affect Nha Trang's tourism economy, because this product is popular with domestic and foreign tourists. When using the electric car service to visit the coastal route in Nha Trang, tourists will be able to "embrace" the atmosphere and seascape.

Electric vehicle operations still have some shortcomings.

According to the Da Nang Department of Construction, during the pilot phase, the City People's Committee and local authorities always create the best conditions for businesses to operate. Because this is a pilot type of transport, this type of vehicle operates within a limited scope, so the City People's Committee "does not direct or call on businesses to invest in more vehicles".

Recently, based on the assessment of the pilot activities of the Ministry of Transport (now the Ministry of Construction) and the opinions of relevant ministries, branches and localities, the Government requested the People's Committees of provinces and cities to announce that they will only implement the pilot regulations until December 31, 2024.

According to the Traffic Police Department, the actual operation of four-wheeled motor vehicles still has some limitations and shortcomings that affect security and order in general and traffic safety in particular.

"The Department of Construction and state management agencies share some of the difficulties businesses face when having to change the operating range of tourist electric vehicles," said the Da Nang Department of Construction.

Meanwhile, Mr. Chu Van An - Deputy Director of Khanh Hoa Department of Construction - said that electric car operations serving tourists in Nha Trang are at risk of having to stop due to new regulations.

Currently in Nha Trang, there are no roads with signs indicating a maximum speed of 30km/h (except for some individual roads and construction areas).

According to Mr. An, the new regulation causes some difficulties for electric vehicle service businesses in Nha Trang, but they still have to comply with the regulations because if they intentionally violate them, they will be dealt with by the authorities.

Electric tourist vehicles need to ensure safety

According to Tuoi Tre in Phu Quoc (Kien Giang), electric cars with passenger cabins are still running normally. However, these vehicles must run on inner-city roads in Phu Quoc City at a speed of about 30km/h. Mr. Tran Minh Khoa, Chairman of Phu Quoc City People's Committee, said that tourist electric cars mainly run on inner-city roads in Phu Quoc City. The city has asked relevant units to review the safety of this type of vehicle to ensure passenger pick-up and drop-off.

According to Mr. Khoa, in the immediate future, the city government encourages businesses that trade in these types of vehicles to self-check, register, inspect, and ensure that they operate in accordance with regulations.

Flexible solutions are needed

On the afternoon of June 16, the People's Committee of Hoi An City and the Department of Construction of Quang Nam Province surveyed the roads to consider placing signs limiting the maximum speed to 30km/h. This is to create conditions for the number of tourist electric cars to operate in accordance with regulations.

According to the owner of an electric vehicle business in Hoi An, electric vehicles here are still being maintained until the end of June. For many months, businesses have been very worried because of regulations restricting electric vehicles from participating in traffic, while in Hoi An, transporting tourists by electric vehicles is very popular and loved by tourists. Electric vehicles are also suitable for the green tourism trend.

"We hope that the authorities will remove the obstacles and have flexible solutions to take advantage of the advantages of electric vehicles in tourism activities. Not only for transportation, electric vehicles are being organized into tours and are loved by tourists," said a representative of an electric vehicle business in Hoi An.

LINH TRANG - CHI CONG - NGUYEN HOANG

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/xe-dien-du-lich-nam-kho-doanh-nghiep-gap-kho-20250617085805566.htm