In an effort to intensify management of taxi operation in Ho Chi Minh City, the city Transport Department has suggested a plan to install black boxes in all taxis in the city to monitor their operation. The plan was introduced by a deputy director of the department, Vuong Hoang Thanh, at a conference held in the city on Friday to discuss measures to improve taxi management and bring more convenience to passengers.  Under the plan, the device will be fixed to a total of 11,039 taxi cabs from 26 firms in the city to monitor them during their operation, Thanh said. Most of the representatives of concerned agencies and tax companies at the conference agreed to the plan, and the department said it will submit the plan to the city authorities for consideration and approval in a near future. The department is now focusing its control over several “hot” areas where many unlicensed taxis are operating everyday. They are the areas around the Ben Thanh Market, Bach Dang Quay, Pham Ngu Lao and De Tham streets, the War Remnants Museum, Tu Du Obstetrics Hospital, and Tan Son Nhat airport. Unlicensed taxis are those that operate individually without registration and often use fake logos of famous taxi brands to make themselves attractive to passengers. Drivers of such taxis often overcharged customers and caused discomfort to them, the department said. In a related development, the Hanoi Taxi Association has established a hotline at (04) 37710851 or (04) 38525252 for everybody, including foreign travelers and local Vietnamese, who have been ripped off by taxi drivers. This is in response to the increasing number of scams by both unlicensed and licensed taxis, targeting especially foreigners and expats.