A taxi picks up passengers at Tan Son Nhat Airport in HCM City. Many taxi firms have registered lower fares following fuel price declines. — Photo tuoitre.vn

HCM CITY (Biz Hub) — Many taxi firms registered lower fares after Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Hong Truong urged them to do so on Monday following recent drops in petrol prices.

Mai Linh Group Deputy General Director Pham Minh Suong said the company has set new rates across its nationwide network based on specific market conditions in separate localities.

In HCM City, Mai Linh will slash rates by 500 dong (two US cents) per kilometre for four-seat cars and 600 dong per km for seven-seat vehicles on Friday.

Vinasun announced that it will cut fares by 500 dong per km this week. With travelling distances of less than 30km, its new charges will be VND14,000 per km for five-seat cars and VND15,000 to VND16,000 per km for eight-seat vehicles.

Comfort Savico registered rate cuts of 500 dong to 700 dong per km, while Airport registered a cut of 300 dong per km, and Sai Gon Hoang Long registered reduction of 500 dong per km.

In the capital, while the Ha Noi Taxi Association said its member companies will slash fares by around 300 dong per km in one next week or two, Taxi Song Nhue announced a rate cut of 500 dong per km.

Ha Noi Transportation Association Chairman Bui Danh Lien told the press that the 300 dong cut would be small compared to the reduction in domestic fuel prices, which hit a record low recently.

He suggested that taxi firms consider more suitable rate cut levels to match current market developments.

Other firms such as Thanh Nga and Van Xuan have reportedly not announced adjustments yet, with charges for sedans hovering around VND11,000 per km for the first 21km, and VND9,000 for every next km.

With regard to fixed-route transporters, companies operating at Mien Tay (Western) Coach Station in HCM City lowered fares by two to five per cent, according to the station's deputy general director, Tran Van Phuong.

Yesterday morning, the Vietnam News Agency reported that some firms operating at Mien Dong (Eastern) Coach Station in the city had not registered price reductions.

Inspectors from the municipal department of finance said these firms would be subject to administrative fines if they did not carry out the registration by the end of today.

"Transporters, including taxi firms nationwide must be aware that it is their responsibility to reduce charges when fuel prices fall. It is also the corporate culture," Deputy Minister Truong told a meeting in Ha Noi on Monday.

Domestic fuel prices plunged to a seven-year low last Thursday, when the retail price of petrol was cut by 961 dong to VND13,752 per litre, and the price of the E5 RON 92 biofuel dropped by 942 dong to VND13,321 per litre.

The price of diesel remained unchanged at VND9,580 per litre. — VNS