Some drivers for local cab company Vinasun are protesting the presence of ride-hailing apps in the market with derogatory bumper stickers.
If you’ve been on the streets of Hanoi or Saigon over the weekend, you might have noticed a new feature on some Vinasun vehicles: a red-and-yellow sticker with statements protesting Uber‘s and Grab’s business in Vietnam.
The exact copy might vary taxi to taxi, but most stickers lament “unfair competition” fostered by the ride-hailing apps’ reduced pricing strategy. The sticker above, for example, calls for a suspension in Uber’s and Grab’s services for creating an “unfair” business climate.
On local social media, the reactions these stickers evoked have been largely negative, with many netizens mocking the company for the “immature tantrum.”
In a previous interview with Tuoi Tre, Deputy Director of Vinasun Ta Long Hy shared that the sticker campaign is not a company policy but a staff initiative by drivers. Some cabbies posted the decals on October 7 and could be spotted throughout the city through Sunday morning.
Hy added the company would review this development internally to come up with necessary solutions.
According to a recent exchange with Tuoi Tre this morning, the deputy director said that Vinasun has ordered all involved drivers to take down the controversial bumper stickers. Cabbies are expected to remove the stickers by today or risk disciplinary actions.
While Vinasun’s bumper sticker campaign may be short-lived, it may bear legal ramifications on the company should Uber or Grab decide to take it to court, according to lawyer Le Viet Hung.
Hung shared with Tuoi Tre that the action is a violation of Vietnam’s advertising law and the drivers could be fined. If Vinasun is actually behind the smear campaign, the consequences could be more serious as the stickers could arguably be counted as comparative advertising, which is explicitly forbidden in Vietnam.
[Photo via Nguoi Dua Tin]
