The municipal Transport Department’s Inspectorate last week reported that it had found 1,216 taxis violating the traffic law and business regulations from June to September.

“Taxi drivers always gather at the roadside, park on pavements or in small alleys waiting for passengers”.

Pham Nhat Quang, deputy head of the Inspectorate, said dangerous drivers were a hazard to pedestrians and other motorists and that taxi firms were punished for breaking the law.

“Every one of the 12 taxi companies inspected were found to be violating the law,” he said.

“Meters that have been tampered with to give false readings to cheat passengers remains a headache,” he said. “Anh Huy taxi company was one of such firms.”

However, Quang said the most common road traffic violation was illegal parking. He said nearly 1,200 fines were issued for such violations during the inspection period.

“Taxi drivers always gather at the roadside, park on pavements or in small alleys waiting for passengers,” he said. “It makes the city’s inherently bad transport situation worse and worse.”

Fines totalling VND460 million (US$25,500) were meted out and 77 taxis impounded, Quang said.

Government Decree 146/2007/ND-CP governing punishments for road traffic violations stipulates that driving offences carry a maximum fine of VND20 million ($1,100).

Nguyen Thi Minh Tu, head of the department’s Transport Division, said some taxi firms had failed to ensure that their drivers were properly trained.

“Besides heavy fines and regular inspections to deter violations by taxi companies, there needs to be a tightening of the regulations regarding business registration,” she said.

Tu said the regulations governing taxi firms were not specific enough.

“For instance, a company must have a car park that matches the scale of the business. However, the rules don’t say exactly what ‘matched’ is,” she said.

Thach Nhu Sy, head of the department’s Inspectorate, said officers would investigate another 12 taxis firms.

“Companies committing serious violations or recurring offences will have their licences suspended or withdrawn,” he said.

Earlier, more than 1,300 taxis belonging to 99 companies were fined for violating the road traffic law and business regulations.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News