Continuing to follow the series of disguised parking lots on Lien Phuong Street (Thu Duc City, Ho Chi Minh City), we went from one surprise to another.
On the morning of November 23, as passengers, we went to the parking lot of Hanh Cafe on Lien Phuong Street to buy tickets to Phan Thiet City. Although the main gate of the parking lot was closed, there was still a small path on the side for pedestrians to move in and out.
Observing from the cafe next to the parking lot of Hanh Cafe, we were surprised to see motorbike taxis constantly taking passengers in and out. Each person went out - then came back in through the small path.
Seeing us sitting at the cafe for quite a while, a skinny man came out from the parking lot of Hanh Cafe, sat down and started a conversation. He introduced himself as working in the parking lot and suggested buying tickets to Phan Thiet City sold by Hanh Cafe.
According to this person, Ho Chi Minh City authorities are cracking down on illegal taxis very strictly, so the business of taxi companies is greatly affected.
According to regulations, all passenger buses on Lien Phuong Street must enter the Eastern Bus Station to operate. However, the bus companies still persist in “not leaving their positions”, and when the authorities come to inspect, they will have a way to escape.
When he saw a sleeper bus with the name of Tam Hanh bus company (located next to the parking lot believed to be owned by Kumho Sumco and Hanh Café) passing by, this person pointed at it and firmly asserted: "The buses in this area do not dare to take passengers from the parking lot anymore because there are police at the beginning of the road. If they see any bus with passengers, they will stop it to check the papers and passengers on board."
This person further explained that drivers take empty cars out of the parking lot to avoid the attention of the authorities. In reality, tickets are still sold to customers, and those who have paid are taken to a temporary waiting lot by the bus company.
When arriving at the departure time, the driver will pick up passengers at the temporary parking lot and then go straight to the highway, leaving Ho Chi Minh City. For single passengers, the bus company will book a motorbike taxi to take them to the temporary parking lot. For groups of 3-4 people, the bus company will book a taxi. The bus company will pay for this fee.
Infiltrate the carefully guarded illegal bus stations in Ho Chi Minh City.
To verify, we went to the Hanh Cafe parking lot to buy tickets.
With an area of several thousand square meters, designed in detail with many items from parking lots, offices, toilets, ticket counters to seats in the waiting area, Hanh Café's parking lot is planned no differently than a real bus station.
At the ticket counter, an employee sat at a computer, working quickly, asking where we wanted to go and immediately collecting money.
The fare for the bus from Ho Chi Minh City to Phan Thiet City is 190,000 VND. After paying, we asked the staff if there were any tickets, but he evaded: "No, just get on the bus, all passengers here are the same."
Things got dramatic when a driver in the parking lot asked loudly: "Why don't customers here get in the car and leave?" Immediately, the cashier gave instructions and shouted: "Don't be nosy, just follow the instructions."
The conversation stopped, the driver said nothing more but just took out his phone to call someone.
About 10 minutes later, a taxi arrived at the parking lot. We and 3 other passengers were instructed to get in the taxi to “go somewhere”. The strange thing was that even the taxi driver did not know the exact destination, the staff of Hanh Cafe forced the taxi driver to follow the motorbike driven by this person.
When the taxi moved, the parking attendant of Hanh Cafe immediately opened the gate for the sleeper bus with license plate 51B 212.68 (24-seat type) to "leave the station" and follow.
Throughout the journey, the bus staff was very alert, spoke little and constantly observed the surroundings. He tried to reassure the passengers that the bus could not leave the parking lot, and that they could rest assured and take a taxi to the temporary parking lot arranged by the company in advance.
Despite the customers grumbling and being annoyed, the staff still “herded” the customers away. Standing next to us, the taxi driver was visibly dissatisfied.
In a fit of anger, the taxi driver “vented” that the bus companies on Lien Phuong Street had been calling taxis to take passengers for a distance of about 2km for the past few days but rarely provided the destination address. The driver was forced to follow the guide.
The temporary parking lots are constantly changing but are all quite close to the company’s parking lot. The purpose of this is to “distract” and deceive the authorities.
In the taxi, we squeezed in with 3 other passengers. Although we were annoyed at being suddenly forced to move to a temporary parking lot, we had already paid 190,000 VND for the ticket in the beginning, so we and the other passengers had to keep quiet and let it pass.
After 1.5km, the guide stopped the car at a temporary parking lot on Road 250 (Phuoc Long B Ward, Thu Duc City), but still signaled us not to get off the car.
After about 5 minutes of circling around, observing carefully and making sure there were no police, the guide let us get off the car.
Taxi drivers also "vented their anger" on their passengers: "Now the police have caught all the illegal vehicles, so all the companies have to take their passengers by motorbike taxi or taxi like this. Each trip they pay me only a few tens of thousands, not enough for gas, I'm so angry. Get off quickly, or I won't take you even if you give me more money."
At the parking lot on 250th Street, besides us, there were dozens of other passengers standing in a group, waiting in confusion. Many of them were angry because they had to come to this temporary parking lot to wait for the Hanh Cafe bus.
When we were herded into the group of guests, we asked the bus staff when we would be leaving for Phan Thiet City and what bus we would take, but the only answer we received was: "Wait a little longer."
While the surrounding area was in chaos, from the beginning of Lien Phuong street, a sleeper bus with license plate number: 51B 212.68 arrived. Immediately, the staff rushed us to get on this bus.
Without having to check documents, go through departure procedures or do anything related to ticket issuance, the driver and staff of Hanh Cafe quickly "herded" the passengers onto the bus.
In less than 10 minutes, everything was in place. From an empty sleeper bus, all the seats were filled in no time.
About 3 minutes earlier, a sleeper bus of this company had just arrived at the temporary station. Without saying a word, the bus staff quickly opened the door, herded the passengers off the bus, and hurriedly took all the luggage out from under the bus.
Being suddenly "pushed" off the bus, more than 20 passengers on the sleeper bus did not know where to go or where to go in the middle of a temporary parking lot.
A male passenger traveling from Binh Thuan to Ho Chi Minh City said in frustration: “Normally, when I travel from Binh Thuan, I will arrive at the parking lot on Lien Phuong Street. Now you drop me off here, how can I call my family to pick me up? Where is this?”
Another female passenger worriedly asked: "Which of these two cars goes to Binh Thuan?"
Despite constantly asking why the bus didn't stop at the parking lot on Lien Phuong Street like usual but instead dropped off passengers along the way, the answer the passengers received was only an evasive attitude from the staff, or a few mumbled sentences to get the matter over with.
In case the customer changes his mind and wants to get back the 190,000 VND ticket he paid initially, the bus staff immediately refuses, arguing that once the ticket has been "issued" from the parking lot, it cannot be retrieved.
The paradox is that the passengers do not have tickets even though they have paid in full. This also means that the passengers are forced to accept getting on the bus, or else they will have to leave the temporary parking lot and the bus company will not refund their money. When a few passengers skipped the trip, the Hanh Café staff also resolutely maintained the attitude of “not hearing, not seeing, and not knowing”.
Just like that, the sound of car horns mixed with the shouts of staff and the sound of passengers dragging their luggage created a chaotic scene on 250th Street. These suspicious activities turned the little-visited land into a disguised illegal bus station.
At more than 12 o'clock, after the passengers were settled in their seats, the driver of the sleeper bus with license plate number 51B 212.68 started to step on the gas, heading towards the highway to Phan Thiet City.
As soon as the car left the temporary parking lot, the staff of Hanh Cafe rushed back to the parking lot on Lien Phuong Street, continued selling tickets, guiding taxis, and herding customers on and off the car.
Repeated activities in public, bypassing the control of authorities.
>>> Part 3: Despite being 'tightened', 'illegal buses and stations' still cause chaos in the center of Ho Chi Minh City
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