Yen Thanh: Abandoned bus station, bustling 'illegal bus stations'
(Baonghean.vn) - Tens of billions of dong were spent to build the bus station, but after 3 years of use, the Yen Thanh District Bus Station has fallen into a state of abandonment, causing a waste of investment money.
Yen Thanh district has a large number of sleeper buses, not to mention the large number of workers working far away from the provinces. Therefore, in order to meet the travel needs of local people, Yen Thanh district has decided to invest in buildingYen Thanh bus stationwith a total area of over 10,000m2The bus station is built quite synchronously and modernly, including an operator's house, a passenger house, a warehouse system, a car wash... with a total investment of over 30 billion VND.
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| Yen Thanh bus station has been invested with billions of dong but buses do not enter the station. Photo: Hai An |
Yen Thanh Bus Station was announced to be put into operation by Nghe An Department of Transport in Decision No. 762/QD-SGTVT dated November 8, 2018; The Ministry of Transport approved the operation of all routes of provinces and cities nationwide in Decision No. 667/BGTVT.VT dated April 26, 2019. The station was built in a convenient location, right in the center of Yen Thanh town (Yen Thanh district), close to National Highway 7B. However, since its completion, Yen Thanh District Bus Station has been quiet all year round because no passenger cars enter the station.
Mr. Nguyen Minh Hoan - Head of Yen Thanh District Bus Station said: The district currently has over 75 sleeper buses running on Yen Thanh routes to Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Hue, Quang Ngai... Recently, Yen Thanh District Bus Station has coordinated with related sectors such asTraffic Safety CommitteeYen Thanh district, Yen Thanh district police, Nghe An Department of Transport Inspectorate... support bus companies to go to the station to complete procedures for operating fixed routes, as well as request the station to pick up and drop off passengers to ensure security and order in the district.
However, up to now, only 20/75 sleeper buses have completed the procedures to operate the fixed route Yen Thanh to provinces and cities across the country, the rest have not yet entered.
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| Sleeper buses do not stop at the station in Lien Thanh commune (Yen Thanh) but set up a "pirate station" to pick up passengers in front of houses. Photo: Hai An |
It is worth mentioning that while Yen Thanh District Bus Station is abandoned, not far away on Highway 7B, spontaneous "stations" of households operating passenger buses are operating quite busily. Sleeper buses pick up and drop off passengers right on Highway 7, occupying the roadside, causing traffic insecurity. Some sleeper buses even run on the wrong route, with contract badges but running on fixed routes.
For example, Quang Vinh bus company in Quang Thanh commune picks up passengers in Yen Thanh district to go to the provinces and cities of Binh Duong, Ho Chi Minh City, Bac Ninh, Da Nang, Vung Tau but has a fixed route sign at Son Hai bus station (Quynh Luu). Quang Khanh bus company in Khanh Thanh commune hangs a contract sign but picks up and drops off passengers on a fixed route...
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| Cars pick up passengers, causing traffic insecurity. Photo: Hai An |
Through research, it is known that the reason why there are few buses entering Yen Thanh bus station is because, at present, many bus companies are self-employed."pirate wharf"right in front of the house. These bus companies often use 12-16 seat shuttle buses to “collect” passengers onto sleeper buses. Most sleeper buses in Yen Thanh operate on the wrong route, not entering Yen Thanh bus station to pick up and drop off passengers to complete departure procedures, but mainly closing departure orders at other bus stations but picking up and dropping off passengers in Yen Thanh district.
The problem now is that relevant agencies need to find a solution to bring vehicles to the station, avoiding the situation where passenger vehicles freely pick up passengers on the street, causing traffic insecurity.
Since the beginning of 2020, Yen Thanh District Police have handled 30 cases of sleeper buses violating the law of stopping and parking to pick up and drop off passengers illegally, imposing fines of over 35 million VND. Currently, there are still many buses that have not entered the station, Yen Thanh District Police will coordinate with relevant agencies to propagate, mobilize, and require bus companies to enter the station according to regulations.
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| Sleeper buses are gathered in every corner of Yen Thanh town without entering the station. Photo: Hai An |
The representative of the Nghe An Department of Transport Inspectorate added: For bus companies operating on the wrong route or exceeding the route in Yen Thanh district, we will verify, inspect and resolutely handle them. If the bus companies do not enter Yen Thanh district bus station according to regulations, we will request the authorities to cut the route and cut the route according to the provisions of law.
