Hanoi (VNA) - The Ministry of Transport has applied information technology to support the management and connection of commercial passenger transportation by con🌜tract (GrabCar) during a two-year trial period, which began this month.

A recent conference in Hanoi gathering representatives of relevant ministries and agencies discussed the topic. Five cities and provinces, including Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, the central Da Nang city, the northern Quang Ninh province and the central Khanh Hoa province, have been selected to test the service. Under the project, GrabTaxi Co Ltd will be the first and only unit allowed to provide e-contract based cars of fewer than nine seats. Other commercial passenger transport firms have joined the project by contract. Last October, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung approved the pilot project submitted by the transport ministry. It aims to help enhance the state management of information technology-based passenger transportation, as well as create high-standard pre-conditions for future science and technology application projects in the transportation sector. Khuat Viet Hung, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam National Safety Traffic Committee, said the project helped transport operations become transparent. The service connects passengers to companies that provide transport services in a time. It also helped lower fares and loosen the pressure on officers who manage transport firms, especially control traffic safety and order officers. The number of "empty cars" running without passengers would be reduced to help curb traffic jams, save energy and cut down on environmental pollution, he added. Colonel Nguyen Ngoc Tuan, Deputy Director of the Road and Railway Traffic Police Department under the Public Security Ministry, said that the application of technology in managing transport firms would be a source of information for police. For example, previously, passengers who left personal belongings in the car and forgot the vehicle's number plate were unable to retrieve their belongings. Now, with clear information about the vehicle and driver shown in the application, passengers can find their missing belongings. On behalf of customers, Vuong Ngoc Tuan, Deputy General Secretary of Vietnam Standard and Consumer Protection Association, said the project was one of the policies that gave preference to customers. The project would boost competitiveness among commercial passenger transportation enterprises and offer more choices to customers, he said. Le Dinh Tho, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Transport, urged prompt implementation of the project. The ministry would collaborate with relevant agencies to assess results and widely apply the project nationwide after a two-year period, he said.-VNA