FastGo not qualified to run ride-hailing service: ministries

HÀ NỘI — Vietnamese platform FastGo is not yet eligible to provide a ride-hailing service, according to the ministries of Industry and Trade, and Transport.

The ministries said FastGo, which received funding from Vinacapital in August, was not approved to pilot its ride hailing services and the company had not completed the registration for operation as a transportation e-commerce platform.

As the competition in the ride-hailing service market heats up, FastGo is facing legal problems.

The Ministry of Transport said FastGo was subject to management under Decision 24 issued in 2016 on pilot application of technology in passenger transport connectivity, but the ministry had not yet received the company’s proposal for a pilot period in Việt Nam, online newspaper Vnexpress reported.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade said FastGo had not yet completed its registration for operation as an e-commerce platform.

As the procedures were not complete, FastGo was not eligible to recruit partner drivers or provide ride hailing services, an official from the ministry’s E-commerce Department told the newspaper.

He added that only when FastGo got the Ministry of Transport’s approval for pilot implementation, could it be licensed for operation by the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

FastGo made its debut in Việt Nam on June 12. In August, it received an undisclosed sum of funding from VinaCapital. It had nearly 15,000 car and motorbike partner drivers in HCM City and Hà Nội and provided nearly 15,000 rides in August. — VNS