HCM City (VNA) - Multipletransportation firms have proposed reducing the number of Build – Operate –Transfer (BOT) toll stations as well as road maintenance fees by 30 percent.
According to transportation firms, each oftheir four-wheel vehicles is charged a fixed cost for road maintenance,insurance, parking lots, and BOT toll stations, among other fees, ranging from 20million VND to 25 million VND (880-1,100 USD) per month.
The excessive amount of fees has led tomore expensive services and fewer customers, they said at a meeting with the HoChi Minh City Department of Transport and Transportation Cargo Association(HTA) on December 27.
BOT toll stations in HCM City, Dong NaiProvince, Binh Duong province, and Vung Tau vity are distributed too densely,they said, adding that the average distance between each station ranges from4.4km to 20km.
On some routes, the cost of passing throughBOT stations is higher than that of fuels needed for vehicles to operate.Hence, it is necessary to reduce the number of road fees by 30 percent,transportation firms said.
Lam Dai Vinh, owner of a transportationfirm, said: “Installation of BOT toll stations in some provinces reduced roadcosts for locals, but this was not seen in the five stations in HCM City.”
“It is also worth mentioning that thoughroad fees are fully paid, transport firms haven’t received any benefit. Myvehicles were stuck in traffic one time for four hours in the My Thuy area,” headded.
An owner of another transportation firmsaid that authorities had failed to provide solutions, though firms hadcomplained multiple times.
For instance, it is unreasonable to chargea vehicle that handles 40 tonnes of goods 17 million VND (750 USD) per year forroad maintenance while it only functions nine months a year, he said.
Nguyen Van Chanh, deputy director of HTA,agreed that transport enterprises in HCM City faced limited transport capacity,unhealthy competition, and inefficient administrative procedures.
Compared to last year, 2017 saw an increasein the number of vehicles, while that of transported goods decreased.
Specifically, the number of containertrucks from 3.5 tonnes rose by 76 percent while the amount of road freight onlyincreased by 7.5 percent.
Chanh said the imbalance between demand andtransport capacity had created a crisis, leading to fierce competition, withmany transportation firms reducing their service fee to 50 percent ortransporting overloaded cargo in an effort to retain customers and maintainoperations.
About 4,270 vehicles were fined foroverloading in 2017, up 9.6 percent year-on year, with the total amount of 47billion VND (2.08 million USD).
The government plans to reduce the roadfees after completing necessary research, according to Tran Quang Lam, deputydirector of the HCM City Transport Department. - VNA
According to transportation firms, each oftheir four-wheel vehicles is charged a fixed cost for road maintenance,insurance, parking lots, and BOT toll stations, among other fees, ranging from 20million VND to 25 million VND (880-1,100 USD) per month.
The excessive amount of fees has led tomore expensive services and fewer customers, they said at a meeting with the HoChi Minh City Department of Transport and Transportation Cargo Association(HTA) on December 27.
BOT toll stations in HCM City, Dong NaiProvince, Binh Duong province, and Vung Tau vity are distributed too densely,they said, adding that the average distance between each station ranges from4.4km to 20km.
On some routes, the cost of passing throughBOT stations is higher than that of fuels needed for vehicles to operate.Hence, it is necessary to reduce the number of road fees by 30 percent,transportation firms said.
Lam Dai Vinh, owner of a transportationfirm, said: “Installation of BOT toll stations in some provinces reduced roadcosts for locals, but this was not seen in the five stations in HCM City.”
“It is also worth mentioning that thoughroad fees are fully paid, transport firms haven’t received any benefit. Myvehicles were stuck in traffic one time for four hours in the My Thuy area,” headded.
An owner of another transportation firmsaid that authorities had failed to provide solutions, though firms hadcomplained multiple times.
For instance, it is unreasonable to chargea vehicle that handles 40 tonnes of goods 17 million VND (750 USD) per year forroad maintenance while it only functions nine months a year, he said.
Nguyen Van Chanh, deputy director of HTA,agreed that transport enterprises in HCM City faced limited transport capacity,unhealthy competition, and inefficient administrative procedures.
Compared to last year, 2017 saw an increasein the number of vehicles, while that of transported goods decreased.
Specifically, the number of containertrucks from 3.5 tonnes rose by 76 percent while the amount of road freight onlyincreased by 7.5 percent.
Chanh said the imbalance between demand andtransport capacity had created a crisis, leading to fierce competition, withmany transportation firms reducing their service fee to 50 percent ortransporting overloaded cargo in an effort to retain customers and maintainoperations.
About 4,270 vehicles were fined foroverloading in 2017, up 9.6 percent year-on year, with the total amount of 47billion VND (2.08 million USD).
The government plans to reduce the roadfees after completing necessary research, according to Tran Quang Lam, deputydirector of the HCM City Transport Department. - VNA
VNA