Taxi is one of the transport vehicles that must change from white licence plates to yellow ones. — Photo vov.vn

HÀ NỘI — All vehicles providing cargo and passenger transportation services must change from white licence plates to yellow ones with black letters and numbers from August 1, according to the Traffic Police Department under the Ministry of Public Security.

This new regulation issued in Circular 58 would be applied for trucks, traditional taxis, cars and motorbikes, and also tech-based taxis and motorbikes. The conversion for vehicles operating before August 1, 2020 must be implemented until December 31, 2021.

According to the Traffic Police Department, the nation has about 1.5 million passenger cars and trucks expected to change to the yellow licence plates. Besides that, individual cars and motorbikes providing passenger transportation services also need to implement the change.

Tech-based cars and motorbikes also have to change their licence plates. When the vehicles stop doing business, their owners can go to the vehicle registration agency to change the yellow licence plates back to white.

Phạm Việt Công, head of the division for vehicle registration guidance under the Traffic Police Department told zing.vn that the colour change of licence plates will create equality for vehicles doing business nationwide.

The new regulation would also help State management agencies strengthen the management of transport businesses and collect data, thereby evaluating transport infrastructure.

Nguyễn Văn Quyền, chairman of the Vietnam Automobile Transport Association, said there were many vehicles needing to change the colour of licence plates from white to yellow, so the State agencies need to create favourable conditions for the change, avoiding impacts on the operation of companies and individuals providing transport services, especially in the context of economic recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to a representative of the Be ride-hailing app, the new regulation would not affect the company's current drivers.

The drivers will make the change themselves. The company's services are still stable and it would not reduce the number of drivers, the representative told phapluatxahoi.vn

However, chairman of the Union of Electronic Transport Cooperatives Nguyễn Xuân Tuấn told Vietnamnet that the union has more than 20,000 tech-based taxi drivers as partners, so the change of colour would cause difficulties and incur costs for businesses and drivers.

This change could lead to a large reduction in the number of tech-based taxis, he said.
Bùi Danh Liên, former chairman of the Hà Nội Transport Association, said that the change from white licence plates to yellow ones would take time and incur costs for many transportation businesses and individuals.

Liên said transportation companies must meet many business conditions. The change of plates would create more administrative procedures. 

Thanh Tùng, a tech-based motorbike driver in Hà Nội said that he provided passenger transportation services while waiting for a new job. If providing the service for a short term, the license plate change would cause problems. — VNS