HCM City (VNA) - Ho Chi Minh City plans to set up taxi pick-up stands to prevent taxis parking in the wrong places and roaming the streets for fares. The first pilot taxi pick-up stand will be on Nguyen Du and Ly Tu Trong streets. The city has about 11,000 licensed taxis, mainly operating in the city’s centre, according to the municipal Transport Department. Because of a parking shortage indowntown areas, most of the taxis park in front of restaurants andhotels to pick up and drop off passengers, causing disorder and trafficcongestion. The most affected areas includestreets around Tu Du Hospital and Ben Thanh Market and streets with manyhotels such as Bui Thi Xuan and Ly Tu Trong streets. Taxi drivers compete fiercely for parking spots, according to a taxi driver. The big taxi firms pay for parkingspaces for their taxis in front of restaurants, hotels, entertainmentcentres and public spaces such as bus terminals, railway stations,airports and hospitals, which are considered their “domain”. Pham Dinh Duc, head of the TransportDepartment’s transportation management division, said the department, incoordination with District 1 People’s Committee and other agencies,will set up five fixed pilot taxi pick-up points in District 1. The pick-up points are located infront of Children’s Hospital No 2 on Nguyen Du and Ly Tu Trong streets,in front of Intercontinental Hotel andGalaxy Cinema on Nguyen Du Street.

Reducing traffic congestion 

Under the pilot scheme, parking and no-parking signs will be set🔜 up as well as waiting areas at the five taxi pick-up points.

There will be no discrimination and priority will be given to taxis arriving at the pick-up points first. Drivers will have two minutes for passengers to embark or disembark from their taxis at these pick-up points. TaLong Hy, chairman of HCM City TaxiDrivers Association, and also director of Vinasun taxi firm, said thetaxi pick-up points will create favourable conditions for taxi drivers. He said that hundreds of pick-up points will be necessary in the city to accommodate the number of operating taxis. Government agencies must be informedabout the purchasing of spots for taxis at restaurants, hotels,entertainment centres and other public spaces such as hospitals, hesaid. “For the taxi pick-up point plan to be a success, these important details must be disclosed to relevant agencies,” Hy added. Transportation expert Lam Thieu Quansaid that other big cities in the country had set up official taxiparking spaces near bus terminals, ports and airports, railway stations,restaurants, hotels, hospitals, office buildings, entertainment parks,and tourist sites. These taxi parking areas do not permit other means oftransport. However, HCM City has no licensedparking areas. City authorities, when licensing hotels, restaurants,shopping centres and other facilities, have not required the owners toprovide parking spaces for taxis. As a result, traffic congestionoccurs in front of these facilities because of numerous taxis picking upand dropping off passengers. “In the near future, city authoritiesshould create parking areas in public areas in the inner city districtsof 1, 3 and 5,” Quan said. “This is one of the basic measures oftransportation organisation and management used to reduce trafficcongestion," he added.-VNA