Vinasun launches new app to book taxi in Da Nang. — VNS Photo www.thesaigontimes.vn

HA NOI — Taxi operator Vinasun Corp has launched a taxi app in the central Da Nang City to compete with expansion of global taxi apps such as Uber.

Vinasun App can be installed in iOS, Android and Windows-based devices.

The application allows users to book cabs, save information about the drivers as well as the fare and travel duration, and to pay both in cash and with cards.

The app is being launched in Da Nang on a trial basis and will be used in HCM City by the end of the year, along with other localities such as Dong Nai, Binh Duong and Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Tran Anh Minh, who manages Vinasun App, said.

In case the passengers call taxi operators instead of using the app, Vinasun's system will send an SMS with similar information to them.

After the trip, passengers can give feedback on the taxi service via the new app.

Vinasun accepts payment via Visa, Master, ATM and Vinasun cards, as well as coupons and cash.

Uber, an American taxi "app" service, offers low-cost rides in expensive unmarked cars. Customers use the "app" to register the route they want to take, and the system connects them to available drivers.

Those using the Uber network pay on average about 20 per cent less than regulated cab fares, but are required to use international currency cards such as MasterCard and Visa.

The Uber network, launched in 2009, operates in 232 cities in 50 countries. It began operating in Viet Nam in July, rapidly expanding in HCM City and Ha Noi by beating established taxi services in both price and availability.

At Vinasun's shareholders' meeting last year, Deputy Director General of Vinasun Tran Anh Minh said Uber's low-cost policy and promotion programmes were among the key reasons that could make the company's 2015 profits fall.

Regarding the launch of the new Vinasun app, Minh said he believed the app would be able to compete with other taxi apps because it targeted all kinds of customers.

The HCM City Department of Science and Technology too launched late last year a taxi booking and management app, called LiveTaxi, which can be downloaded on mobile devices, amid the expansion of taxi apps such as Uber, GrabTaxi and EasyTaxi.

Vinasun earned more than VND3.6 trillion (US$162 million) in revenue in 2014, a 19 per cent year-on-year increase.

The company has set a revenue target of VND3.9 trillion ($176 million) for this year, a three per cent year-on-year increase. However, profit is predicted to fall 15 per cent to touch VND266 billion ($12 million).

It plans to buy some 1,100 new cars to bring the total cars in its service to more than 6,100 by the end of 2015. — VNS