Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - The Government’s new decree on automobiletransportation is expected to help get the transportation market back on track,according to the Ministry of Transport.

Decree 10/2020/ND-CP will take effect from the beginning of April in thecontext that the Fourth Industrial Revolution (Industry 4.0) has hugely changedthe transportation market, making old regulations outdated.

The ministry said the decree demonstrated the Government’s determination to usetechnology in automobile transportation management, simplify administrativeprocedures and remove inappropriate regulations.

The decree aims to create a fair playing ground for transportation serviceproviders, increase convenience for passengers and ensure safety.

The most noteworthy point of the new decree is that it clearly distinguishestransportation service providers from ride-hailing platform operators.

An automobile transportation service provider can perform at least one of thestages of transportation services like directly operating vehicles, managingdrivers or actively offering fees while ride-hailing platform operators couldnot intervene in any stage but only help connect drivers and passengers.

Tran Bao Ngoc, director of the Transportation Department under the Ministry ofTransport, in an interview with Tuoi Tre (The Youth) online newspaper, saidthis would enable companies like Grab to select the most appropriate model fortheir operation, as transportation service providers or ride-hailing platformoperators.

The decree coming into force would also signal the end of the pilot project oftech-based cars which allowed ride-hailing cars to operate in five provincesand cities including Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, Quang Ninh and Khanh Hoa.

Ngoc said that with the new decree, ride-hailing cars could operate in all 63provinces and cities nationwide if they met legal requirements.

All cars providing passenger transportation services via ride-hailing applicationswill be treated like taxis from the beginning of April.

This means such cars must have a taxi sign on the roof or a sign made ofreflective material on the front and rear window. The installation must becompleted before July 1.

In addition, roof signs would no longer be compulsory for traditional taxis.Instead, they could also opt for a taxi sign made of reflective material on thefront and rear window.

This aims to ensure fairness between ride-hailing cars and traditional taxis.

According to Nguyen Van Xang, chairman of Hanoi Union of Transport TechnologyCooperatives, which manages more than 14,000 tech-based cars, said the newdecree would create a legal framework for ride-hailing car firms which wouldbenefit both drivers and passengers.

Xang said the market for tech-based cars would be expanded to 63 provinces andcities which would create opportunities for drivers.

The new decree, replacing the Decree 86 issued in 2014, also regulates allvehicles providing transportation services from nine seats or higher mustinstall cameras before July 1 to record their journey. This regulation aims toimprove transportation service quality and ensure traffic safety./.