How will passengers travel when Thanh Buoi bus company stops running?

Localities had to mobilize hundreds of extra buses from Ho Chi Minh City to Da Lat and Can Tho when Thanh Buoi Company stopped carrying passengers.

After more than 20 years of operation, Thanh Buoi passenger vans are chosen by many people when traveling because of their good service quality. In the Southern region, this bus company holds a large market share on the routes of Ho Chi Minh City - Da Lat, Can Tho, Da Lat - Can Tho. These are the routes with the highest concentration of passengers, especially on weekends, holidays, and Tet when the demand for entertainment and tourism increases. Therefore, the company's suspension of hundreds of trips per day from October 29 has affected the passenger transport market.

Unlike some passenger transport companies through the station, most Thanh Buoi buses carry passengers according to the contract between the car owner and the passenger. At a recent meeting, Mr. Do Ngoc Hai, Head of the Transport Management Department (HCMC Department of Transport), said that in a week from September 27 to October 3, this bus company carried out 896 passenger transport contracts from HCMC to Lam Dong and vice versa. That is, for the above route alone, the company has an average of more than 100 trips per day, much higher than businesses operating fixed routes at inter-provincial bus stations.

Thanh Buoi passenger bus picks up passengers on Dien Bien Phu Street, Binh Thanh District, November 2022. Photo: Gia Minh — Thanh Buoi passenger bus picks up passengers on Dien Bien Phu Street, Binh Thanh District, November 2022. Photo: *Gia Minh*

Director of the Department of Transport of Lam Dong province, Nguyen Van Gia, also said that Thanh Buoi bus company operates under a contract, so the Department does not have exact statistics on the number of passengers, but estimates that it accounts for 30-40% of the market share on the Lam Dong - Ho Chi Minh City route. After the company stopped carrying passengers, other bus companies operating on this route have planned to increase trips, so the travel of people and tourists from Ho Chi Minh City to the tourist center of Da Lat is still guaranteed.

"If there is an overload, we will mobilize many other bus companies so as not to affect people's travel and tourism," Mr. Gia affirmed.

Meanwhile, according to the leader of the new Eastern Bus Station (Thu Duc City), there are three transport units operating the Ho Chi Minh City - Da Lat route at the station. After Thanh Buoi bus company temporarily stopped, the above route was increased to about 20 trips per day. This number is still lower than the backup plan of 100 buses that the city's Department of Transport had prepared to increase every day.

For the route from Can Tho to Ho Chi Minh City and Da Lat , it is estimated that each day there are 80-90 Thanh Buoi buses departing from Can Tho Central Bus Station, accounting for 20-30% of the market share on the route. This is one of the leading bus companies in the number of trips from Can Tho to the two above localities, so it has somewhat affected the travel needs of the people. However, due to the low season, the fact that Thanh Buoi has stopped carrying passengers in the past few days has not caused much disruption.

Mr. Le Tien Dung, Director of the Department of Transport of Can Tho City, said that he has asked Can Tho Bus Station Joint Stock Company (owner of Can Tho Central Bus Station) to develop a plan to meet the travel needs of passengers when Thanh Buoi bus company stops operating.

In the opposite direction, Mr. Tran Van Phuong, Deputy Director of Mien Tay Bus Station (Binh Tan District, Ho Chi Minh City), said that Thanh Buoi Company only has one fixed route operating in the station to Can Tho. On this route, the company has 32 trips per day with an average number of passengers of about 700 people. When the company stops operating, there are 4 other transport units at the station that also have routes to Can Tho for customers to choose from, so it does not affect travel demand much.

Thanh Buoi bus company stopped carrying passengers after the police and related units inspected the company's operations in Ho Chi Minh City and Da Lat. The search focused on the documents that the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Transport transferred after inspecting this bus company. The results of the inspection by the Department showed that the company had committed many violations in its transportation business activities. Currently, the violations are under the jurisdiction of the Department of Transport. The Department has transferred other violations to the Ho Chi Minh City Police and other units in charge of the field.

Regarding the above issue, the Ho Chi Minh City Police Investigation Agency has sent a dispatch requesting the Lam Dong Provincial Tax Department to assist in investigating and verifying information about crimes related to Thanh Buoi Company. In this dispatch, Ho Chi Minh City Police said they are investigating a report about a case with signs of tax evasion occurring at Thanh Buoi Bus Station, headquartered in District 5, Ho Chi Minh City, and a branch in Da Lat City, Lam Dong.

Thanh Buoi Company was established in March 2000, operating mainly in the field of passenger and cargo transportation. The enterprise is owned by two members: Mr. Le Duc Thanh contributed about 67.8 billion VND, holding 84.71% and Mr. Le Duong contributed 12.2 billion VND, holding 15.29%. Mr. Thanh holds the position of company director.

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