Fortuner car turned into illegal passenger car

(Baonghean) - Waiting for a bus at Cay Chanh market (Dinh Son commune, Anh Son district) to Vinh city, I was surprised when a 7-seat Fortuner stopped.

The driver quickly opened the door and got out, asking: "Are you going to Vinh?" While he was hesitating, the driver immediately confirmed: "Don't worry, this is a passenger car, from here to Vinh it's only 70,000 VND, the same as the listed price of this route. When you get to Vinh, you get off at any place and I'll take you there."

Through the conversation on the bus, we learned that in recent years, due to the increase in passenger vehicles, buses have also been added to Thanh Chuong and Anh Son districts along the Ho Chi Minh route, so passenger vehicles with more than 16 seats cannot compete. Some bus companies have had to invest in buying 7 or 9 seater vehicles to "run".

A driver named Trung said: I have been driving a 16-seat car for many years, now that I quit the job I don’t know what to do for a living so I have to keep doing it. Small car, several trips a day, if I am lucky I can earn nearly 2 million VND. Driving this car doesn’t require me to go to the station, is less likely to be checked by the authorities, and is convenient for driving in the city!

After 2 hours of traveling, the car arrived at Hung Nguyen town, while collecting money, the driver asked for each passenger's address to calculate the most reasonable route and so on, the driver freely drove around the city to drop off passengers and deliver goods. After each time dropping off passengers, he did not forget to say, "When you come back, just call me and I will pick you up at your place."

A 16-seat passenger bus stopped at Nguyen Duc Canh Street to pick up passengers (photo taken at 12 noon on January 10). Photo: PV

Not only 7-seat cars, but in Vinh City now there is no shortage of 16-seat passenger cars "openly" picking up and dropping off passengers in the city. At 10:30 am on January 10, we called 0973 511... running the route Vinh City - Con Cuong town and vice versa of VK Passenger Transport Cooperative with license plate 37B 0080... (the car has been away from the station for more than 6 months - data provided by Vinh Bus Station)... and the bus company immediately asked where to pick up. When we refused, saying we couldn't make it in time, we were "advised" that the company had 6 cars running continuously (about 30 minutes/trip - PV) so you can go at any time from 4:30 am to about 7 pm and pick up and drop off passengers in the city.

From the customer's perspective, having a car pick up and drop off at the door is a huge advantage. Because in the past, the car only went to the station, then the passenger got off and went home by himself or when wanting to go anywhere by bus, he had to go to the station. Nowadays, whether in a small alley or on a big street, as long as there are no authorities, inspectors, or police present, the bus company opens the door to pick up and drop off passengers. However, this brings many consequences.

The Vinh - Que Phong bus stops to pick up passengers at the bus stop next to the Fountain flower garden (Vinh City). (Photo taken at 11:16 a.m. on January 10). Photo: PV

Mr. Nguyen Dinh Lam - Head of Transport Planning Department of Nghe An Bus Station Joint Stock Company said: Currently, the number of vehicles leaving the station and illegal vehicles is still very large and tends to increase. Every month, we have a report sent to Nghe An Transport Inspectorate requesting to handle, check, strictly handle and bring vehicles back to the station to operate according to regulations. Because leaving the station not only causes budget loss, but also creates unfair competition in the transport business. For example: Vehicles running on Vinh - Con Cuong route, the current fare is 80,000 VND x 26 trips/month = 2,080,000 VND/month; Vinh - Thanh Chuong route (80,000 VND x 26 = 2,080,000 VND/month; Vinh - Muong Xen 180,000 VND x 26 = 4,680,000 VND/month... Meanwhile, vehicles leaving the station do not have to pay any money.

With illegal vehicles, causing the State to lose revenue is only one aspect, because often illegal vehicles do not enter the station or enter the station but still run off schedule to pick up passengers, which is also one of the causes of traffic congestion in the city today. However, handling it is not simple.

Many people in Thanh Chuong, Anh Son, Do Luong buy 7-seat cars to drive buses. Illustrative photo.

Major Nguyen Duy Ha - Head of the Vinh City Traffic Police Team said: Vehicles without passenger transport contracts often choose rush hours, when the Traffic Police are trying to direct traffic to avoid congestion. At that time, if signs of violations are detected, priority must still be given to traffic direction. Moreover, they also do not pick up passengers at locations where there are police checkpoints. Unless they receive reports from agencies, organizations, and individuals about the transport business vehicle and carry out the necessary investigation procedures, such as when they say they are transporting family members, but when asked for their names, they do not know each other... then it can be handled.

According to the synthesis of the Vinh City Traffic Police Team, from November 16, 2015 to November 15, 2016, the City Police recorded 232 cases of passenger cars running off schedule; from November 16, 2016 to January 8, 2017, recorded 28 cases of vehicles running off schedule. From the above results, compared with the total data of the whole year of Nghe An Passenger Car Joint Stock Company on the situation of illegal cars and cars leaving stations, it is clear that these types of cars have "tricked" the authorities many times. Because according to the investigation, each illegal car or car leaving stations runs 2 - 3 or even 4 round trips per day, so each year the number of violations is up to thousands of times.

Thao Anh