Ha Noi Police, in co-operation with city transport inspectors, started a one-month scheme for inspecting taxi operations throughout the city yesterday, May 9.

 Vice Director of the Ha Noi Transport Department Nguyen Hoang Linh, said that eight groups of inter-sector inspectors would concentrate on punishing violations such as illegal parking, failing to show driving licenses and business insignias.

The department will task relevant authorities with suspending the operation of businesses whose taxis were found to have regularly violated regulations Linh said, adding that his department would review and add additional parking lots for taxis in order to help facilitate operations.

During the first four months of 2011, inspectors punished around 1,640 violators for common violations including illegal parking, driving in the wrong lanes, operating without licenses, violating traffic laws and installing or using substandard taximeter.

The Vice Director General of the Mai Linh Taxi Group confirmed that strict punishments, especially with regards to illegal taxis, would create a healthier, competitive environment for firms, seeing as substandard services affect the sector's prestige.

Up until April, the city had 114 taxi firms with more than 15,000 taxis and 20,000 taxi drivers. During 2010, taxis transported around 40 million passengers.

Source: VNS