Giap Bat Bus Station. Road maintenance fees were reduced by 30 per cent for passenger transportation vehicles and 10 per cent for trucks and tractors till the end of this year. — VNA/VNS Photo Danh Lam

Transportation firms have welcomed the Ministry of Finance’s recent move to reduce road maintenance fees by up to 30 per cent to aid businesses hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Ministry of Finance early this week issued a circular to cut road maintenance fees for passenger transportation vehicles by 30 per cent and 10 per cent for trucks, tractors and other special vehicles.

The reductions apply from August 10 to the end of this year. From January 1, 2021, road maintenance fees will return to the levels before August 10.

According to Khuc Huu Thanh Hai, director of Dat Cang Transportation, Trading and Services Joint Stock Company, cutting road maintenance fees would be a significant aid to transportation companies amid the pandemic.

With around 400 five-seat cars and 70 47-seat buses, Hai said his company could save a considerable sum from the fees reduction.

Hai, however, said he had expected bigger reductions because the transportation sector had been heavily affected by the pandemic.

Bui Danh Lien, deputy chairman of the Ha Noi Transport Association, said the COVID-19 pandemic’s impacts on the transport industry were severe with a number of transport sectors frozen while companies still have to pay to maintain operations.

The Government’s support was essential in the time of the pandemic, which would help transportation companies overcome difficulties and recover, he said.

In May, the Ministry of Transport asked the Ministry of Finance to exempt and reduce road maintenance fees for transport vehicles and firms affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The ministry pointed out that thousands of firms, co-operatives and household businesses in the transportation sector were falling into difficulties due to the pandemic with more than 310,000 vehicles operating in moderation and hundreds of thousands of workers facing falling incomes.

When nationwide social distancing was in place to cope with the virus, the passenger transportation saw a 75 per cent drop in revenue, the transport ministry said. — VNS