Nghe An Bus: Part 1 - Real and fake mixed together

Running on the prescribed route, at the correct frequency, stopping to pick up and drop off passengers at designated signposts; getting on the bus feeling comfortable, safe, clean... that is the reality happening on some buses that those who have been "lucky" to use, because there are still many shortcomings surrounding this public transport service.

At 6am, we arrived at the Vinh University bus stop to take route 4: Vinh City - Dien Chau - Hoang Mai. Many passengers were also waiting. Many passengers who bought monthly tickets had their cards around their necks to make it easier for the ticket inspectors to check their tickets. Route 4, invested and operated by the Dong Bac Trading and Service Corporation - Nghe An Branch. The bus station turned on the radio to listen to the morning news, the ventilation system was turned on to create a feeling of safety and comfort. Sitting next to me, Ms. Dang Thi Thu Huyen, an employee of Nghe An Petroleum Company working at Quynh Thach Petroleum Store, Quynh Luu, said: "My house is in Vinh but I go all the way to Quynh Luu to work. I used to ride a motorbike or a van. But for more than a year now, I have completely switched to going to work by bus. The ticket price is 320,000 VND/month. Compared to going to work by motorbike or other vehicles, the bus is much more economical and safer." Currently, 6 of her colleagues in the same branch also use the bus to travel. The Ben Thuy - Hoang Mai bus route has 19 buses operating, with 106 trips/day, frequency 15-20 minutes/trip departing in both directions. The first trip starts at 4:30 am and the last trip is at 7 pm every day, creating favorable conditions for passengers to use this transportation service.

However, on bus route number 3, Vinh - Thanh Chuong - Do Luong inner city, of Dong Bac Trading and Service Company, which we had the opportunity to use just one day later, the service quality was completely opposite. Although there were many passengers on the bus, the air conditioner was broken, there were not enough seats, so people stood and sat haphazardly, feeling stuffy and hot and uncomfortable. Ms. Nguyen Thi Huyen, from Thanh Chuong, currently studying at Vinh University, using a monthly ticket said: "On unlucky days, I encounter buses with poor quality like this. Because I was afraid of being late for school, I couldn't wait for the next trip...!"?

In addition to the phenomenon of uneven service quality between routes, even on the same route if traveling on different vehicles, the situation of competing for passengers by some fake buses and the hooliganism that often occurs with buses is causing a sense of insecurity for people when using this type of vehicle. With the form of the vehicle, paint color, exactly like real buses, fake buses can easily mix in to pick up passengers at bus stops. Through our survey, the phenomenon of fixed vehicles impersonating buses mixing in and competing for passengers with buses occurs on 3 routes: routes 3, 5 and 6. Some vehicles with high activity intensity are vehicles with license plates: 37B-00124 (route 3), 37B-00142 (route 5) and 37B-00189 (route 6).

Not only that, fake buses are also the culprits causing fights over passengers, leading to scuffles and thugs against bus drivers and staff, causing public outrage. The most recent incident on July 11, 2011, was when driver Nguyen Ba Muoi, driving a bus of Dong Bac Company, was assaulted by thugs while on duty driving a vehicle from Do Luong district to Vinh city. Or on the Vinh - Ha Tinh route on October 7, 2010, driver Nguyen Phuc Nam was threatened by a group of young men carrying knives and swords at Vinh Station, causing panic among the passengers on the bus.

It can be said that after 2 years of rectification and reinvestment, the public bus transport business, in addition to the convenience it brings to society, also has many problems that need to be rectified and overcome...

(To be continued)

Huu Nghia - Thanh Duy