Passenger transport on April 30 and May 1: "Hot" train and bus tickets

(Baonghean) -The 4-day holiday on April 30 and May 1 this year is expected to increase the number of passengers by 2-3 times compared to normal days. To meet the travel needs of passengers, although the number of trips and capacity has been increased to the maximum, train and plane tickets are still "hot"...

There is still 1 week left until the April 30 and May 1 holidays, but at this time, 100% of local train tickets from Hanoi to Vinh on April 26-28 have been sold out, and the opposite direction, focusing on April 30 and May 2, has also sold about 80-90%. Mr. Tran Thanh Tung - Deputy Station Manager of Vinh said: There has never been a year when the number of passengers increased as much as this year during the April 30 and May 1 holidays (an increase of 200-250 trips compared to normal days). To meet the maximum travel needs of the people, the Railway industry has to add more cars and routes, but it is still overloaded, especially for sleeper and soft seats. Specifically, the Thong Nhat and local trains from Hanoi - Vinh and Vinh - Hanoi have both increased from 6 pairs to 10 pairs, the number of carriages has also been extended from 12-13 carriages to 16-17 carriages, mainly to serve students and tourists to open the 2012 Cua Lo Beach Tourism season. Regarding air tickets, according to information from the Chief Representative of Vietnam Airline Office, Luu Vinh Hai, the situation is also very "tense". To serve the increased travel demand of passengers during the holidays, the airline plans to increase flights for the Saigon route and increase capacity (change to larger aircraft) for the Hanoi route. However, this year, travel and tourism companies have predicted the situation and have plans in advance, so currently the Saigon route has sold 90% of the tickets from April 26-28, and the Hanoi route has sold 100% of the tickets. In general, round-trip air tickets to and from the North and South are very difficult, Mr. Luu Vinh Hai affirmed. Regarding ticket prices, the surcharge has increased but not significantly (only a few tens of thousands). The ceiling price for Vinh-Hanoi is 1.2 million VND, Vinh-Saigon is 2.4 million VND (not including fees)... Train and plane tickets are scarce, so many "slow-moving" people have had to switch to high-quality sleeper buses or cancel their travel plans during this holiday because they cannot buy tickets.

Currently, Vinh Bus Station meets the travel needs of people during the holiday.
April 30 and May 1 holidays. Photo: Thanh Duy

Regarding passenger transport by car, according to Mr. Ngo Sy Hai - Head of Vinh Bus Station, the number of passengers this year only increased by 5-7%, concentrated within a radius of about 500 kilometers, mainly on the routes Vinh - Hanoi, Vinh - Da Nang, Vinh - Hue, Vinh - Hai Phong and vice versa. "Vinh Bus Station is currently managing 300 vehicles both within and outside the province. We will increase the routes and concentrate vehicles on less frequent routes on key routes on peak days, ensuring that passengers do not miss the bus or route" - Mr. Hai said. Regarding ticket prices, as of April 23, there was only one unit, Thach Thanh Tourism and Trade Private Enterprise, selling surcharge tickets for the April 30 and May 1 holidays at an average of 18-60% of the current ticket price from April 27-28, Hanoi - Vinh route and from May 1-2, Vinh - Hanoi route. Accordingly, the ticket price (sleeper bus) of Thach Thanh will increase from 150,000 VND to 240,000 VND (surcharge of 90,000 VND). Vinh Bus Station Management Board said: By April 25, if no business sends a notice about the ticket price increase, the station will proceed to sell tickets at the current listed price. In fact, although gasoline prices have increased twice, to compete and retain customers up to this point, the bus price has remained almost unchanged (Vinh-Hanoi soft seat 130,000 VND, sleeper 150,000 VND; Vinh-Hai Phong, seat 150,000 VND, sleeper 170,000 VND; Vinh-Saigon seat 500,000 VND; sleeper 780,000 VND). However, Mr. Hai also expressed concern about the possibility of arbitrary collection and arbitrarily raising fares for passengers who do not have tickets or who get on the bus along the way and then negotiate prices with the bus company. Because according to Decree 91, transport businesses are allowed to sell tickets themselves, so the number of high-quality bus brands that entrust ticket sales to bus companies is not much, in some cases only entrust 50% and sell 50% themselves, so controlling ticket prices is very difficult. "If we do not buy tickets at bus stations, it is difficult for us to intervene in cases where customers are forced to pay higher prices, but if we buy tickets at the station, we will definitely have measures to ensure the rights of passengers when incidents of "overcharging and stuffing" occur," Mr. Hai added. To serve people's convenient and safe travel during the April 30 and May 1 holidays, plans to ensure security and environmental sanitation inside and outside the station, handle vehicles carrying more passengers than prescribed, and arbitrarily increase ticket prices... have also been planned and implemented by Vinh Bus Station Joint Stock Company.

Khanh Ly