Vietnam’s transport firms urged to cut fares to low fuel prices   Most transport firms in Vietnam are keeping their high fares despite several cuts to fuel prices. Photo credit: Tuoi Tre Vietnam’s transport ministry has ordered transport firms to reduce their fares after the country’s retail fuel prices dropped for several times recently following the tumbling global prices. The ministry issued the order on Saturday, asking transport officials to check prices in their areas and make sure they come along with the retail fuel prices. Retail fuel prices in Vietnam went down most lately on August 19, by 4 percent, two weeks after a similar cut was made as the global prices continued to plummet. The reduction was the sixth this year, among four hikes. Transport firms are still charging the prices based on the high fuel prices. But vice minister Nguyen Hong Truong said the drops have been “significant” and thus businesses should make serious calculations and list more reasonable prices. Than Van Thanh, vice chairman of Vietnam Automobile Transport Association, told news website VnExpress that businesses are supposed to adjust their prices when fuel retail prices go up or down 10 percent. But Thanh said many of them will not do that immediately as they have to wait for new prices to stay stable for a while. Transporters in Vietnam including taxi firms have acted very promptly anytime the government hiked fuel prices. But it’s not the first time the government has to urge them to do the same after the prices went down. The Finance and Transport Ministries last January had to call for transport companies to reduce fares several times after Vietnamese fuel retailers cut prices 13 times straight since July 2014, by nearly 31.5 percent as of January 6. Companies then cut their fares by between 3 percent and 18 percent after threats of penalties were made. Thanh Nien News