An alliance of 17 domestic taxi companies with 12,000 vehicles launched Monday, aiming to compete with ride-hailing services company Grab.

According to Le Vinh Quang, the alliance’s deputy president, the alliance hopes to increase the number of members to reach 20,000 vehicles next year.

The alliance’s members now operate in 40 provinces and cities and hope to expand to all 63 provinces and cities in 2019.

The alliance will operate on the platform EMDDI, an app which could be downloaded from Play Store and App Store, developed by the Viet Nam National University, Ha Noi. The alliance is also promoting online payment through deals with Viettel, Momo and VN Pay.

Quang said it would take only 1-2 minutes to book a ride and promised there would be no fee hikes in rush hours. The alliance hoped it would enhance service quality to compete with Grab, a popular ride hailing services in major provinces and cities.

In Ha Noi, six taxi companies joined the alliance, namely Thanh Nga, Van Xuan, Thang Long, Sao Mai, Long Bien and Que Lua. Taxi firms Open99 and Vic are expected to join soon to bring the alliance’s total number of taxis in Ha Noi to 4,000.

Vu Tien Loc, Chairman of the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry said it was important for taxi firms to use advanced technologies and improve service quality to better serve passengers. — VNS