Many bus companies pledge not to increase prices during Tet

(Baonghean) - During the Lunar New Year of Dinh Dau 2017, people will not have to worry about a shortage of trains and passenger vehicles as well as high ticket prices, thanks to commitments from road and rail transport units. However, people should buy tickets early at valid ticket sales points to proactively plan their schedules and avoid buying fake tickets.

Many bus companies pledge not to increase prices

Mr. Nguyen Hoang Huynh - Director of Vinh Bus Station Joint Stock Company said: "The peak service period will take place from January 17 to February 12 (from December 20, 2016 to January 16, 2017 lunar calendar). Through the results of annual passenger transport services, it can be seen that before Tet, the number of passengers is mainly on intra-provincial routes, so at Vinh Market Bus Station, the number of people, vehicles and goods at Vinh Bus Station increases 3-5 times compared to normal days; and after Tet, the number of passengers is mostly on inter-provincial routes, so at Vinh Bus Station, the number of passengers increases 5-6 times.

Basically, passenger transport still meets the demand, both within the province and outside the province. The company has a plan to mobilize long-distance vehicles to serve the province before Tet; after Tet, transport units are required to arrange 20-30 reserve vehicles operating on the intra-provincial route with good quality to increase service on the inter-provincial route. In addition, the company plans to mobilize about 20 buses from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to participate in relieving passengers during peak days.

Passenger bus at Vinh bus station.

Regarding ticket prices, Mr. Nguyen Hoang Huynh said: “The company has met with transport units, signed a commitment with each driver serving at the station not to charge more than the registered ticket price, and not to carry more than the prescribed number of seats. In addition, the company also requires units that increase one-way ticket prices to submit ticket price and ticket registration before January 12, 2017 (ie December 15 of the lunar calendar) with the prescribed increase of 50% or less. Up to this point, no business has registered to increase ticket prices during Tet.”

Through research, some reputable bus companies such as Van Minh, Phuc Loi, Thach Thanh, Hong Vinh have committed not to increase ticket prices during the 2017 Lunar New Year. Mr. Hoang Van Bac - Director of Phuc Loi International Travel Joint Stock Company - the operator of the Vinh - Hanoi sleeper bus route said: "We will add 4 more buses to serve Tet, put into use before New Year's Day. The number of trips will increase from 2 to 6 trips/day. During Tet, in addition to the unchanged ticket price compared to normal days, we will offer free tickets for children under 6 years old, and a 20% discount for war invalids, sick soldiers, and the elderly over 70 years old."

Mr. Pham Duy Chung - CEO of Hong Vinh Company - the first unit to serve Limousine buses on the Vinh - Hanoi route said: "In addition to keeping the ticket price the same, we offer incentives to customers such as not charging for transportation of gifts, calendars and picking up and dropping off passengers at longer distances...".

Train tickets increased slightly

For the Railway industry, the Dinh Dau Tet transportation “campaign” starts from January 13, 2017 to February 18, 2017. However, the Vietnam Railway Corporation opens Tet train tickets for sale very early (October 1, 2016) at stations and ticket agents of the Railway industry or for passengers who want to buy tickets online.

This year is the second year that the Railway industry has applied the form of electronic tickets. Tet train tickets are sold online, creating convenience for passengers who need to travel by train. Passengers can buy anytime, anywhere and can print tickets directly at home, so ticket sales are also more convenient and faster; reducing ticket congestion at the station. Moreover, buying train tickets online can limit the situation of ticket scalpers. If the ticket is lost, passengers can use their ID card to retrieve it.

Passengers at Vinh station.

Mr. Nguyen Dinh Thanh - Director of Vinh Railway Transport Business Center said: "Every day, the Railway industry sells about 8,400 tickets/day for the Saigon - Vinh - Hanoi route and vice versa during Tet. In addition to the above number of tickets, the Railway industry also creates 5% more extra seats to serve people traveling. For passengers arriving and departing from Vinh station, Vietnam Railways organizes 15 Thong Nhat trains from Saigon - Vinh - Hanoi and vice versa, and regularly organizes the NA local train pair (Hanoi to Vinh and vice versa).

In addition to the above pairs of trains, the Railway sector also organizes additional pairs of local trains to transport people and workers of the Samsung Industrial Park from Hanoi and the Northern provinces to Vinh and vice versa. In addition, to facilitate the people of Nghe An and Ha Tinh living, working and studying in the Southern provinces to return home for Tet, the sector organizes two trains departing from Vinh to the Southern provinces every day, namely SE15 and SE21 (each train has about 800 tickets).

Regarding ticket prices, Mr. Nguyen Dinh Thanh said: “During the peak period before and after Tet, train ticket prices during the Dinh Dau Tet holiday increased by about 5-10% compared to the Binh Than Tet holiday ticket prices in 2016, of which the highest is 1,954,000 VND (air-conditioned on the first floor) for the Saigon - Vinh route and vice versa. The price of an extra seat ticket is equal to 80% of the price of a hard seat ticket on the train. According to regulations, the ticket prices of some trains from Vinh to the days before Tet are reduced by 20-50%”.

To ensure absolute safety in all aspects for the Dinh Dau Tet 2017 transportation campaign, Vinh Railway Transport Business Center has planned to coordinate with local authorities and Vinh City police to ensure absolute safety in all aspects for people traveling during Dinh Dau Tet 2017 at Vinh Station. In addition, Mr. Nguyen Dinh Thanh also warned: "Recently, at Saigon Station, there have been cases of fake train tickets. Therefore, train passengers need to note that the special feature of electronic tickets is that train passengers must have information on the train card that matches the passenger's identification documents and only buy tickets at agents, ticket sales points far from the station and ticket sales offices of the station or on the Railway industry's websites".

Minh Quan