TAXI

Contents:

1/ Overview

2/ Vinasun taxi

3/ Mai Linh taxi

4/ Phuong Trang taxi 
5/ In Vietnam, the shorter the distance gets, the more belligerent cabbies become

Overview
All main cities and towns in Vietnam have taxi service. Most taxi companies use  4 and 7-seater Toyota, Sonata, Innova, Starex cars. Famous and reliable ones are Vinasun, Mai Linh and Phuong Trang.

Sai Gon and Ha Noi cities are really crowded during peak hours (6:00AM - 7:30AM and 5:30PM - 6:30PM). Even the motorbikes move very slowly during these peak hours, so taxi maybe will get stuck.

Taxi fare includes start fee, distance fee and waiting fee. Start fee from 10,500 VND -12,500 VND. Distance fee: Km 1 to Km 30 charges from 13,000 VND -18,000 VND/Km and from Km 31 will be 10,400 VND/Km

Beware!!! There are some scam taxi and fake taxi in Sai Gon and Ha Noi cities. To get on the true taxi, you can follow below tips:


1/  Ask receptionist at your hotel/guesthouse or waiter/waitress at restaurant to call for you a taxi to make sure you've got the "true" one.

2/ Taxi drivers of  Phuong Trang, Mai Linh and Vinasun  wear uniform.

3/ From Tan Son Nhat airport to the center of Sai Gon, a taxi should charge about 6USD. You can book airport pick-up in advance with tourist agencies, such as TheSinhTourist (www.thesinhtourist.vn)

Vinasun taxi 

So far Vinasun has got more than 4000 vehicles operating in mostly Sai Gon and Da Nang cities. The company use 4 and 7-seater Toyota cars.

The car is mostly in white and green colour. On body is written Vinasun taxi ("Vinasun" in green colour and "taxi" in red colour)

Taxi drivers wear white shirt with red tie and black pants


Sai Gon telephone: (08) 38 27 27 27

Da Nang telephone: 0511 3 68 68 68

 http://www.vinasuntaxi.com

 

                                                       Pic: Vinasun company

Mai Linh taxi

So far Mai Linh has got approximately 2.400 vehicles operating in 24 provinces and cities throughout the country, from Lao Cai to Ca Mau. Mai Linh is also one of the most famous open bus operator (See "Bus")

Taxi driver wear white shirt with green tie and black pants

Taxi car is in white and green colour. On body is written Mai Linh group

Sai Gon telephone: (08) 38 38 38 38

Can Tho telephone: (0710) 3 65 65 65

Phu Quoc island telephone:  (0773) 97 97 97

Ha Noi telephone:  (04) 38 33 33 33

Da Lat telephone: (063) 38 38 38 38

Mui Ne telephone: (062) 38 38 38 38

Nha Trang telephone: (058) 38 38 38 38

Da Nang telephone: (0511) 356 56 56

Hoi An telephone: (0510) 392 92 92

Hue telephone: (054) 3 89 89 89

                                                          

                                                                  Pics: Mai Linh taxi company

Phuong Trang taxi

Offer service in Sai Gon and Da Lat cities. Phuong Trang is also one of the most famous open bus operator (See "Bus")

  Taxi driver wear bold green uniform with a light red tie

  Taxi car is in grey colour. On body is written Taxi Phuong Trang with logo in reb and white colour "Futa"

                      

    Sai Gon telephone:08 38 18 18 18 

    Da Lat telephone: 0633 556 556 - 063 35 35 35 35

    http://futatrans.com.vn/

                                                                           Logo

                                                

                                                      Pics: Phuong Trang taxi company

5/ In Vietnam, the shorter the distance gets, the more belligerent cabbies become

(TuoiTreNews.vn) - Passengers flagging down a taxi at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City should expect to be scolded by the cabbies if they are to travel a short distance.

In other cases, the drivers will beg, or blatantly ask, for a premium instead of the amount showed on the meter, saying a short drive is not enough to help them cover expenses.

A Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper correspondent last month took taxis operated by different firms for short drives from the airport, and in no case did he step out a cab without having to pay extra money or receiving complaints from the driver.  

On January 28, the reporter asked a Hoang Long taxi to drive him from the airport to Huynh Lan Khanh Street.

After learning that the destination is only 2km away, the driver angrily talked with the customer in short and frank sentences.

The taximeter showed VND32,000 (US$1.49) when the cab stopped and the driver asked for the airport entrance fee, which was VND10,000.

Seeing the driver apparently getting mad about the small fare, the customer apologized but the cabbie suddenly swore and shouted, “F..k! I waited at the airport for three hours for this journey and now you pay me only a few dozen dong.”

The Tuoi Tre correspondent then traveled the same distance with a Saigon Tourist taxi, and too was treated with anger and displeasure by the cabbie.

Meanwhile, a Savico taxi driver had another trick when asked to drive for a short distance by the same Tuoi Tre reporter.

He first suggested the customer pay VND150,000 ($7) for the ride instead of using the taximeter, but the request was rejected.

The cabbie then took busy traffic as an excuse to turn into many different roads before reaching the destination, and ended up charging the reporter VND100,000 ($4.66) for the ride that normally costs VND60,000 ($2.8).

Other drivers would not express any anger or use the dishonest driving trick. They just blatantly ask for extra money.

A taxi driver normally has to wait in line for two to three hours before their turn to pick up passengers at the airport.

Operating at the airport is “risky business,” said Hung, a driver of the V. taxi operator.

“There are days when you earn millions of dong after two rides, while you fail to reach the revenue target the other day despite five to six journeys,” he said.

V. drivers have to pay the company VND600,000 ($28) when receiving the cars every morning. So they will have to try to earn more than that sum during the day to make a profit.

“We thus try to seek extra money from customers, or take the longer path on short-distance journeys,” Hung admitted.

A Saigon Air cabbie said most taxi drivers at the airport are reluctant to give short drives.

“We have to generate a revenue of VND1.35 million [$63] a day to receive salary from the operator,” he explained.

But Nguyen Huu Quang, deputy director of Saigon Air, said the target is reasonable and “drivers can easily make it if they work hard.”

Quang added that the firm already carefully considered it before setting the target so that it would not become a pressure for drivers.

Saigon Air also has a policy to support drivers when they carry customers on short journeys, which allows them to return directly to the airport without having to get in line again if their previous fare is below VND40,000, Quang said.

“Drivers just make up an excuse that they could not meet the target with short journeys to ask for more money from their passengers,” he underlined.

A representative of Hoang Long Taxi also said the company has the same support policy for drivers.

Ta Long Hy, deputy general director of taxi operator Vinasun and chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Taxi Association, said drivers who turn down short rides will be suspended from work for a month for the first violation. The drivers will have their contract terminated for backsliding.

“I recommend all taxi operators strictly sanction their drivers for this, and passengers should report to the taxi companies if they meet such cabbies,” Hy said.