Mai Linh's ride-hailing service launches fares comparable to Uber and Grab.

Mai Linh Hanoi has just announced its new motorbike taxi fare schedule, right before Mai Linh Northern Vietnam Joint Stock Company seeks shareholder approval for adding "Passenger transport by motorized rickshaw, tricycle, and motorbike" to its business activities.

The prices are not too different.

In its announcement, Mai Linh Hanoi calls its ride-hailing service M.Bike. For the regular M.Bike service, the fare is 11,000 VND for the first 2km. Customers will pay an additional 3,800 VND for each subsequent kilometer. Mai Linh will also simultaneously launch M.Bike Premium with a fare double that of the regular M.Bike.

The prices mentioned above are not significantly different when compared to uberMOTO and GrabBike. Specifically, uberMOTO's fare is 3,700 VND/km. Each minute of service usage is charged at 200 VND. uberMOTO also applies a cancellation fee of 5,000 VND and sets a minimum fare of 10,000 VND.

Customers using GrabBike services in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City will be charged according to two different price lists. Grab applies a fare of 11,000 VND for the first 2km in Hanoi, while the first 2km in Ho Chi Minh City costs 12,000 VND. However, this price is subject to flexible adjustments based on demand, area, and time of day.

Price list for ride-hailing services from Mai Linh, Uber, and Grab.

Another Vietnamese app offering ride-hailing services also offers a similar price. The basic fare for Go-bike is 3,600 VND/km. For the first 2km, the company applies a fare of 11,000 VND.

Each company has its own approach to the market.

This coming October, Mai Linh Northern Vietnam Joint Stock Company will conduct a written shareholder consultation regarding the addition of "Passenger transport by motorized rickshaw, tricycle, and motorbike" to its business line. This would make Mai Linh the first taxi company to offer motorbike taxi services, with Hanoi being the chosen market for this expansion.

In fact, Grab developed a ride-hailing service using a technology application as early as the end of 2014. Ho Chi Minh City was the first place to launch GrabBike (November 27, 2014). Nearly seven months later (June 13, 2015), GrabBike appeared in Hanoi. Grab also set separate fare rates for each city and has maintained this to this day.

The entry of the premium ride-hailing service GrabBike Premium into the market followed a similar pattern. SH, PCX, and other Piaggio scooters were first used as motorbike taxis in Ho Chi Minh City on November 4, 2016. GrabBike Premium only appeared in Hanoi on March 1, 2017.

Speaking to the press, Mr. Nguyen Tuan Anh, Director of Grab Vietnam, said that the entire GrabBike system currently has 50,000 drivers. The growth rate of the number of GrabBike drivers is very high, considering that at the beginning of 2017 there were only 20,000 people.

As for Uber, the company decided to launch its uberMOTO service in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City simultaneously on April 21, 2016. “In the past year, we have created over 20,000 job opportunities and provided additional income for many people,” said Mr. Dang Viet Dung, CEO of Uber Vietnam, at the 1st anniversary celebration of the uberMOTO service launch.