Ride-hailing fares double during heavy Hanoi rains

Thuy Linh ordered a Grab car to work from home that morning and was willing to pay VND180,000 ($7.38), twice the normal rate. But no driver accepted the eight-kilometer trip.

After waiting half an hour she tried other services, such as Be and Gojek, but without success. Traditional taxi operators also told her that flooded roads were preventing drivers from moving.

Ngoc Son, who works for a tech company in Cau Giay District, ordered food earlier than usual at 11 a.m., but no drivers were available.

Phuong, a fruit seller in the same district, said that she had to delay shipments to customers until the evening because she could not find drivers during the day.

"I couldn’t make any bookings on Grab or Ahamove," said Phuong. "Due to heavy rains and floods, drives decided to stay where they were."

By 2 p.m., customers began reporting that motorbike services and prices had returned to normal on Be, Grab and Gojek.

Car fares, however, were still 150% of the normal rate.

Constant rains from Wednesday night to Thursday morning have flooded many streets in Hanoi by up to 0.7 meters, severely disrupting traffic.

Rains poured in many districts with the low-lying Hoang Mai suffering the most severe flooding after receiving 105 mm rainfall within six hours.Almost every streets and alleys in the district were flooded, with water invading homes and offices.