Nghe An: Trains and buses lie idle waiting for passengers on New Year's Eve

Available atBac Vinh Bus StationOn December 30, we recorded a scene of "unprecedented" desolation and emptiness, even though we were about to enter the New Year holidays. The ticket sales area had only a few lighted booths, the waiting seats at the station were empty, no one was sitting, many sleeper buses were lined up in the parking lot, occasionally someone came to clean or start the engine to ensure the buses were still running...

A long line of cars waiting at Bac Vinh Bus Station because there are no passengers. Photo: QA

Mr. Hung, the owner of a sleeper bus running the Vinh - Hanoi route, sighed: "At this time last year, our bus was almost fully booked, customers kept calling to book seats, however, this year it is completely empty, my bus has 44 seats but on December 30, there were only 10 customers booking from Hanoi to Vinh, and only a few people in the opposite direction...".

Mr. Hoang Minh Thanh, the owner of the bus running the Vinh - Ha Giang route, could not hide his sadness: "My bus is not doing any better. On December 30, there were only 2 customers booking tickets. From December 31 to January 1, there were only 7 customers booking tickets. Even though we do not have enough money to cover the costs, we still have to run to maintain the reputation of the bus company and to assure customers that the bus is still operating so that people will know to book tickets in the future..."

The waiting area at Bac Vinh Bus Station was deserted on December 30. Photo: QA

Mr. Nguyen Duc Tu - Head of Bac Vinh Bus Station said: Never before has the bus station been as gloomy as this year. Currently, there are more than 100 registered vehicles in the station, however, in reality, only about 20 buses leave the station every day.

Although this year's New Year's holiday is 3 days (from January 1 to 3), the situation is still not better, the number of customers booking tickets has decreased by 80% compared to previous years.

Similar to Bac Vinh Bus Station, Vinh Railway Station cannot avoid the desolate and deserted situation in the last days of the year. Currently, there are only 2 pairs of North-South trains in operation, SE5-SE6 and SE7-SE8, passing through Vinh Railway Station. On December 30, a total of 4 trains had only 65 passengers getting on and off Vinh Railway Station, a record low number in recent years.

Sleeper buses were empty during this year's New Year holiday. Photo: QA

Mr. Cao Ngoc Tuan - Station ChiefVinh Railway Transport Stationsaid: "January 1, 2022 is the official New Year holiday, so people who need to return home will often gather to return on the evening of December 31. However, according to statistics, the number of people booking tickets to Vinh on train SE5 on the afternoon of December 31 is only 83 passengers, from Vinh departing to other regions is only 9 passengers. For train SE7, returning to Vinh has only 15 passengers and from Vinh to other places is only 16 passengers. Thus, the total number of passengers who need to travel during the New Year holiday this year is only about 200 people, while in previous years it fluctuated from 1,500 - 2,000 passengers...".

Vinh Station is quiet during the last days of the year. Photo: QA

According to bus and train station representatives, the main reason for the serious decline in passenger numbers is still the impact of the Covid-19 epidemic. People are worried about the epidemic, so they do not have the need to travel and travel like in previous years. In addition, the number of workers from the regions, especially the southern provinces, has almost all returned by motorbike during the recent peak of the epidemic. As for the remaining workers, they took advantage of the New Year to stay and work to save costs, waiting until the Lunar New Year to return.

Despite the sharp decline in passenger numbers, epidemic prevention and control work at bus and train stations is still being carried out seriously to ensure people's safety. Photo: QA

In order to better serve people's travel needs, ensure traffic order and safety, prevent and control Covid-19 epidemic in transportation business activities during the New Year, Lunar New Year and Spring Festival 2022, Nghe An Provincial People's Committee has established a Steering Committee for passenger transport services during the New Year, Lunar New Year and Spring Festival 2022.

Accordingly, the units will strengthen coordination to implement drastic and synchronous solutions to ensure order and safety during passenger transport services. At the same time, strictly implement the work of preventing and fighting the Covid-19 epidemic in passenger transport activities, minimize the risk of spreading the epidemic, and improve the effectiveness of controlling people returning from epidemic areas.