From April 1, ride-hailing services in Vietnam will cease operations for 15 days, except for delivery, to limit the risk of infection from mass movement of people, in accordance with the government's request to practice social distancing to fight the Covid-19 pandemic.

Ride-hailing drivers gather for a break. Photo: Phap Luat Newspaper

On March 31, the Hanoi Department of Transport requested all buses, ride-hailing services and inter-provincial passenger transport to cease operations from April 1 to 15 in the city. 

The request was made after the Ministry of Transport on the same day requested all transport units to halt services for 15 days starting from April 1, in compliance with a directive by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on urgent measures to prevent and combat the Covid-19 pandemic. 

beGroup, which operates ride-hailing app be, also announced the temporary interruption of services like beBike, beCar, inter-provincial service, and rent by the hour nationwide from April 1, while beDelivery and personal shopping remain operational.

Grab, the most popular ride-hailing app in Vietnam, did the same to all the four-wheel transport services including GrabCar, GrabCar Plus, GrabCar for businesses, GrabCar for provincial routes, GrabRent nationwide from April 1 to 15; and GrabFood in Danang from April 2 to 15.

Only GrabFood in other cities and provinces, GrabMart in Ho Chi Minh City, and GrabExpress nationwide continue working in order to attend online shopping activities.

Mai Linh Group, one of the biggest traditional taxi operators, also announced on March 31 to temporarily stop working nationwide, in adherence to the instruction of the prime minister.