Leaders of the Hanoi Transport Department have affirmed that the number of taxi firms in Hanoi is in excess of the demand.

 

Deputy Director of the Hanoi Transport Department Nguyen Hoang Linh said that a lot of problems have arisen from the massive development of taxi firms. The director says this is one of the reasons for traffic jams at many localities in peak hours.

 

According to Linh, though many taxi firms have shifted to other business due to unprofitable business, Hanoi still has 103 taxi firms which have 9,500 operational taxis, 12,500 drivers, 60 percent of whom come from outside the city.

 

The state management agency also said that many taxi firms have not paid appropriate attention to training taxi drivers. As a result, many taxis scramble for clients, drive too fast or park cars in prohibited areas. Some taxi firms have been found as hiring drivers who cannot meet requirements.

 

The department said that some taxi firms in Hanoi have been ordered to stop operating since management agencies discovered fraud in calculating taxi fares. The Hanoi Transport Department has asked the city’s authorities to build up a plan on management over passenger transportation by taxi service in Hanoi in the period of 2010-2015 with a vision to 2030.