Ho Chi Minh City Although built modernly and conveniently, the new Mien Dong bus station is sparsely populated near Tet, "inferior" to the scene of busy cars picking up passengers at gas stations and roadside pick-up points.
On a late afternoon in January, Ms. Bui Diem, 35 years old, a factory worker in Thu Duc City, and her sister, carrying a lot of luggage, took a taxi to Highway 1, near Linh Xuan intersection, waiting for a car to Binh Dinh. They booked sleeper tickets with Thanh Long bus company to return to their hometown more than a month ago, but did not know the fare because after finalizing the time, the company arranged for them to wait at the above location to get on the bus, then pay.
"On normal days, the ticket price from Ho Chi Minh City to Binh Dinh is nearly 400,000 VND, but during Tet it can be more than double, but I accept it because the bus is close to home and easy to catch," said Ms. Diem, adding that although the ticket price is higher than the bus station in the new Mien Dong station, Thu Duc city, because the way to the station is far and inconvenient, and it is difficult to book a sleeper ticket for the same route, she did not buy it.
Passengers waiting for a bus on Highway 1, near Linh Xuan intersection, late January 2024. Photo: Gia Minh
Unlike Ms. Diem, Nguyen Khanh, 25 years old, working in Song Than Industrial Park, also went to National Highway 1 to catch a bus to Quang Ngai, but he did not book a ticket in advance but "took whichever bus was convenient". "I went back to my hometown alone, and I had little luggage, so I did not need to prepare much. Instead of wasting time and money taking a motorbike taxi to the station, it is more convenient to pick up here," he said.
National Highway 1 near Linh Xuan intersection is one of the places where Ho Chi Minh City allows fixed-route buses to stop to pick up and drop off passengers, so that people living nearby can conveniently get on the bus instead of having to go around to the bus station. Most of the buses stopping at this location are bound for the Central and Northern regions. However, many "unlicensed buses" labeled as contract buses also stop at this area to solicit passengers.
The time allowed to stop and park here is limited to 3 minutes, but many cars continuously signal, open their doors, and park for 30 minutes to an hour to collect passengers. At some times, there are nearly a dozen cars lined up, with hundreds of passengers standing and sitting below, making the area look like a miniature bus station.
More than 4 km away, National Highway 1, passing through Tam Binh 2 gas station, is also a familiar place for many people to pick up cars. At this location, many "unlicensed cars" stop and wait to collect pre-booked passengers or passersby. At night, cars pick up and drop off passengers in the above area even more loudly and openly. This situation also breaks out at many gas stations and parking lots on National Highway 13, Hanoi Highway... due to the high demand for travel during Tet.
Passengers wait to get on the bus at a gas station on Highway 1, near Binh Phuoc intersection, late January 2024. Photo: Gia Minh
In contrast to the bustling scene of buses picking up passengers outside, the new Mien Dong station has been deserted in recent days, even though there are only 10 days left until Tet. This is the largest bus station in the country, with an investment of more than 4,000 billion VND, capable of serving millions of passengers each year. However, after being put into operation in phase one for more than 3 years, the station has always been deserted.
Mr. Nguyen Lam Hai, Deputy Director of the new Eastern Bus Station, said that in recent months, the number of passengers passing through this place has increased compared to before due to the Tet holiday, but it is still not as expected. Statistics in January showed that on average, there were 274 departures per day at the station carrying about 4,000 passengers, reaching only nearly 5% of capacity. In addition to the reason that the bus station is far from the inner city and traffic connections are not convenient, Mr. Hai said that there is also an outbreak of "illegal buses and stations" at the end of the year, affecting businesses in the station.
Currently, the Eastern Terminal has only 96 transport companies registered for fixed routes, but in reality, only 57 companies are operating because many companies have their vehicles outside or transferred to other terminals. Meanwhile, the routes from some inter-provincial terminals in Ho Chi Minh City have routes that pass through the new terminal, so the bus companies make appointments in advance and then pick up passengers on the road, making it even more difficult for the terminal to attract passengers. Not to mention, many cars run the wrong route to collect passengers, making it even more difficult for the bus companies at the terminal.
Sparse passengers at the new Mien Dong bus station, late January 2024. Photo: Gia Minh
To limit the above situation, the new Eastern Bus Station leader has proposed that the management agency strengthen the inspection of commercial transport vehicles through journey monitoring devices. This will help determine whether cars registered at the station are traveling on the right route or not, or whether cars labeled as contracted but operating on fixed routes will be handled promptly and limit "illegal vehicles and bus stations".
On the other hand, the bus station also proposed that the city stop allowing fixed-route cars to pick up and drop off passengers on Mai Chi Tho Street and near Linh Xuan intersection to limit the situation of cars picking up and dropping off passengers, causing traffic safety problems as well as reducing congestion.
Mr. Do Ngoc Hai, Head of the Transport Management Department, Ho Chi Minh City Department of Transport, said that the demand for travel during Tet has increased, so traffic in some areas has become more tense, in which the situation of "illegal buses and bus stations" has also increased. Preliminary statistics show that there are currently 60 pick-up and drop-off points in the area that do not comply with regulations. Functional units are focusing on inspection and handling, especially in the gateway areas and around bus stations.
Regarding the new Eastern Terminal, Mr. Hai said that many solutions have been implemented to increase operational efficiency. Among them, many bus routes have been arranged to connect directly to this place, and a free shuttle bus network is also being implemented. At the same time, items belonging to the overpass and underpass project in front of the station are about to be put into operation to facilitate the passage of passenger cars.
In addition, according to the plan, Metro Line No. 1 (Ben Thanh - Suoi Tien) will operate from July this year, connecting to the new Eastern Bus Station, helping the area become a traffic hub with many types of large-scale passenger transport, inter-provincial transfers and in and out of the city center. The city is also implementing a project to increase bus connections with this railway line, in which bus routes will connect with the bus station to create a public transport network for the entire area.
Previously, Ho Chi Minh City banned cars from stopping and parking on many inner-city streets, in order to limit cars picking up and dropping off passengers along the way and help reduce traffic congestion. Some "hot spots" were also equipped with cameras to fine cars, but the results were not as expected, only decreasing each time there was a campaign and then recurring. Early last year, the city banned sleeper buses from entering the inner city from 6am to 10pm, and is considering increasing the time to 24/7, in order to reduce the number of "illegal buses and bus stations".
Gia Minh
Source link
Comment (0)