In January, the Vietnamese Ministry of Transport issued a decision giving the GrabCar company the green light to pilot its GrabCar ride-hailing service in 5 provinces and cities, namely Ha Noi, Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, Khanh Hoa and Quang Ninh, until 2018.

View from inside a GrabCar

However, the Da Nang authorities have recently asked the Ministry for permission to delay the implementation of the government-approved pilot run of GrabCar on the city’s streets.  The main reason is that other licensed taxi companies already have as many as 1,700 cars in circulation on local streets, and the pilot run for GrabCar without proper preparation will disrupt the city’s taxi planning and worsen traffic congestion.  Although the Ministry has yet to give its answer, the Da Nang authorities have decided to go ahead and ban all GrabCar operations in the city.

Local journalists reported, correctly at the time, that local residents could book a car on the GrabCar application on Android-operating system smartphones.  A confirmation notice would be immediately sent to their phones stating the fare as 11,000 VND/km. 

However, according to a spokesperson for the municipal Department of Transport, strict punishments will now be imposed on any drivers who operate the GrabCar service. 

Inspectors from the Department have asked the GrabCar service providers to stop publicising, advertising and operating their service in the city.  However, the inspectors are finding it difficult to monitor because the service is mainly deployed via mobile applications, and most of the GrabCars operating do not have the prescribed logo displayed on them.

Last year, GrabCar advertised its GrabCar service in Da Nang.  Due to the new ban by the city authorities, all advertising boards and banners about the service have now been removed from the Da Nang International Airport and other areas.