All taxis will be required to install black boxes and printers connectedto their meters to improve monitoring of the fares charged topassengers, according to a new regulation.

The regulation, whichwas part of the draft decree on transport trading by the Ministry ofTransport, stipulated that the installation of black boxes on taxis mustbe completed by July.

Also, taxis would have printers to providemeter bills by 2016. Each taxi would be required to record specificschedules and their fares, and a signal box with a light would be set ontop of each taxi.

In the draft decree, the ministry also askedthe authorities in localities to intensify the management of taxis.Further, the People's Committees of localities would be in charge ofstipulating the colour of taxis in their areas.

The ministry alsoasked local authorities to regulate the number of taxis for eachenterprise, which could range between 10 and 100 cars.

The draft decree has been sent for public comments.

Chairmanof Hanoi Transport Association Bui Danh Lien said it was necessary toinstall black boxes and machines to print receipts in taxis. This wouldbe more convenient for the monitoring agencies and passengers, whenseeking to recover lost items or in cases where they claim they wereovercharged by taxi drivers.

Lien also agreed with the installation of machines in taxis to print receipts.

"I'veresearched the market. The cost of installing a machine is not much,but the life of the printers can be up to ten years," he said.

Tran Quoc Khai, CEO of Noi Bai Taxi Company, said his company had used such machines in taxis for years.

"Wethink that the installation has helped avoiding cheating. Passengerscould easily call to complain if a driver overcharged them or providedbad service".-VNA