For the past couple of days I haven’t been able to get a hold of the local newspaper in the office so I wasn’t aware that there has been talks of a fare price hike for the first time this year (if I remember correctly) because of the rising petrol prices.
I was just surprised this morning that I had to pay around 18k VND (almost a dollar) more than my usual cab fare. And yes, I got kinda mad at the cab driver thinking I was getting ripped off. But he tried telling me that there’s a price hike. And so I had to check the news when I reached my cube.
This news that was released last March 9 states that the increase will happen anywhere from 10-15 days. I guess they couldn’t wait. So now, an additional 1.5kVND (70 cents) is added to the taxi flag down rate. But wait, I’m not sure if it’s just the flag down rate or there is an additional increase on every kilometer — because my cab fare was increased by 20%. 😦
If I weren’t pregnant, I’d readily walk to the Dong Khoi Shuttle to get me to and from work but that’s quite a workout now for me. And I really hate that I have to fight my way in the shuttle even if the other passengers can clearly see I’m pregnant. 😦
Hello Saigon! 
The fuel hikes have a tendency to affect every industry in Vietnam. I noticed I am paying about a $1 more at the gas pump then before the price hike, about a 10% increase. It costs me about 90,000 (~$4.50 US) VND to fill my motorbike now. In comparison, it cost about 40,000 VND (~$2.75 US) to fill my bike which is not bad for me but for an average Vietnamese, that is a big increase over 8 years.
I am curious to see how much my favorite restaurants will raise their prices. They seem to love an excuse to raise prices more then once a year if they can. Of course, if the price of fuel drops, all prices tend to stay the same. Here comes the rising inflation again.
I didn’t think about that. Now, I shall brace myself on the food prices.
If your shop at Big C or Lottemart, the prices should remain the same. In the past, Big C leveraged their suppliers.
That’s sad— having to fight your way to get in the shuttle. It would be nice if people formed a line so the boarding will be orderly. Regarding the fare increase, 20% is quite steep. I’ll try to ride Mailinh instead of Vinasun when I can, especially when traveling long distances— their rates are slightly cheaper.
I do prefer ML over VS .
It was 100,000vnd from D1 to pmh… I noticed the change this pm, 120,000vnd now :s
Yup! 😦