After a period of closely following the chaotic and illegal activities of bus companies in the suburbs of Ho Chi Minh City (Phu Huu Ward, Thu Duc City, Ho Chi Minh City), we continued to move to the city center, where many people are complaining about the chaos caused by illegal buses and stations.
'Illegal buses and bus stations' cause chaos in the center of Ho Chi Minh City.
Posing as someone who needs to travel from Ho Chi Minh City to Vung Tau City by bus, we approached Hoa Mai and Huy Hoang bus companies operating in the center of District 1 (Ho Chi Minh City).
On Nguyen Thai Binh and Yersin streets, the traffic is always busy. Every 100 meters, there are 1-2 16-seat limousines parked on the side of the road or going in and out. Many of them are under the names of big companies such as Huy Hoang and Hoa Mai with the words "contract car" and "tourist car".
At 30 Yersin, every 30 minutes Hoa Mai buses stop to drop off passengers.
Typically, at 9am one day in November, a limousine labeled as a “tourist car” of the Hoa Mai company turned on its turn signal to pull over to the sidewalk at 30 Yersin. Very quickly, the driver stepped out from the front door and asked the passengers to move quickly.
From the limousine, 8-9 passengers got off. A girl around 25 years old, although shaking her head and waving her hands to refuse, she still could not escape the pursuit of the motorbike taxi group. Some other passengers flatly refused the motorbike taxi group and found a cafe to sit at, booking a motorbike taxi. With their bulky luggage, these people struggled to carry their suitcases and bags and walked across the street.
Not caring that dropping off the passengers at 30 Yersin might put them in awkward situations, the Hoa Mai driver quickly returned to the cockpit, stepped on the gas and drove the limousine away.
Amidst the blaring of car horns, some people soliciting passengers to get on the bus, others shouting at passengers to move quickly, this bustling atmosphere makes the "makeshift bus station" look exactly like a real bus station.
This activity happens so often, over such a long period of time, that residents and passersby are used to having to give way to this "king" to pull in and out at any time.
We decided to follow the Hoa Mai limousines to find out where they would go after dropping off passengers. However, after more than 30 minutes of following them, we realized that the cars had no fixed parking space.
Specifically, after dropping off passengers at 30 Yersin, the driver continues to circle around the center of District 1 and stops at any empty sidewalk. When it is time for the next trip, the driver will receive orders from the bus company and then steer to the pick-up location.
Continuing to follow the Hoa Mai bus, we called the hotline 0889 200 200 to book tickets to Vung Tau. The operator asked us to leave our phone number, full name, desired departure time and to arrive at 83 Nguyen Thai Binh (District 1) 15 minutes early to wait for the bus.
Regarding the price, this person said 200,000 VND/trip, no deposit required, just get on the bus and someone will collect the ticket.
After setting the departure time, we arrived at the correct address 83 Nguyen Thai Binh to wait for departure. From this location to the initial drop-off address of Hoa Mai bus company is about 550m. It can be seen that Hoa Mai bus company has limited its operation area to the pick-up and departure stations quite close to each other.
At 83 Nguyen Thai Binh, a signboard with the words “Western Bus Station - Vung Tau Bus Station” is firmly erected, it is a branch of Hoa Mai Bus Company. This house is about 20 square meters wide, with a few rows of chairs inside for passengers to sit and wait.
This address was registered by Hoa Mai Transport & Service Company Limited with the HCM City Department of Transport as a receiving point for passengers from Mien Tay Bus Station, however, the operation of this branch is no different from an "illegal station".
Hoa Mai bus company collects individual customers very sophisticatedly through the telephone switchboard and reception station, then "magically" turns the customers into users of the "tourist car" service, while the bus company itself openly lets its limousines travel as fixed-route buses.
To bypass the authorities, Hoa Mai bus company still receives passengers from the call center and saves their information. However, when picking up passengers at the reception station, they take them straight to the bus without issuing tickets.
At the Hoa Mai bus station, there is a counter for staff. When we arrived, there were about 3 staff working there: one receiving guests directly, one answering the phone, and one taking notes.
“Anyone going to Vung Tau, come to the front, the bus is here,” an employee shouted. After saying that, this person came out with a list, calling out each guest’s name.
We went to the cashier to ask the staff about our trip to Vung Tau City, the staff gave us a form, asking us to fill in all personal information (full name, phone number). After filling it out, the staff told us to wait, the company would send a car to pick us up right at the headquarters.
If you have contacted the hotline to book tickets in advance, the staff will confirm your name and phone number and also ask you to fill in your personal information in the above form.
We wondered why there were no tickets, the staff simply replied: "Someone will collect the money, no need to worry."
Looking worried, we continued: “Without tickets in hand, how can we be sure that there will be a bus to pick us up? If the bus company doesn’t pick us up, what should we do?”
Seeing that, this employee reluctantly explained: "The customer information has been saved on the computer and on the handwritten list. When needed, the bus staff will call the phone number you just provided."
To avoid detection, we filled in false information on the list. And of course, they couldn't detect it. Because for them, the most important thing was the number of people riding, whether the personal information was correct or not, was not important.
However, at this moment, alertness began to appear on the bus staff's faces, we stopped talking and moved to the seating area.
While waiting, we noticed a steady stream of customers coming in and out of this reception station. Every 30 minutes, a group of 6-9 people would move to the car as coordinated by the staff.
Right on time for departure, a limousine with the words “tourist car” parked on Nguyen Thai Binh street to pick up passengers. From the waiting area, passengers with heavy luggage spilled out onto the sidewalk to line up.
The shouts of the staff and the driver were mixed with the sound of the car horn. Each passenger’s name was read out, and those whose names were on the list got on the bus. This chaotic scene seemed so familiar that no one thought anything unusual about it.
Everything takes place right on the sidewalk, in the center of District 1 without any intervention from local authorities or management agencies.
After about 2 hours of travel, the limousine of Hoa Mai bus company took us to the center of Vung Tau city.
Determined to follow the bus companies to the end, after leaving Hoa Mai bus, we continued to move to Huy Hoang bus branch (No. 312, Nguyen An Ninh Street, Ward 7, Vung Tau City).
Huy Hoang is a bus company with the number of passenger trips on the Ho Chi Minh City - Vung Tau route equal to Hoa Mai bus company. In Vung Tau city, Huy Hoang bus company is also considered "famous" because it has many vehicles and has been operating for a long time.
After asking to buy tickets for a while, we were told by Huy Hoang bus staff that the price for the return trip from Vung Tau City to Nguyen Thai Binh Street (District 1, Ho Chi Minh City) is 200,000 VND/trip.
Before the bus started, we approached the drivers to ask questions. At that time, we discovered that each driver was given a contract with the words "Contract for transporting passengers by car".
The contents of the contracts are similar. Accordingly, Party A (the lessor) is Huy Hoang Investment - Trade and Service Company Limited, represented by Director Le Ngoc Hai. The representative of Party B (the lessee) is someone named NTT.
The information about the person named NTT only has a hastily written address and phone number, information related to the CCCD/ID card is left blank.
Suspecting that Huy Hoang bus company used “ghost contracts” to turn fixed-route passenger buses into “contract buses”, we asked what the papers labeled “Passenger Transport Contract by Car” were for, but the drivers remained silent.
Stepping into the limousine with license plate 72B-028.47 of Huy Hoang company, we were asked to fill in personal information including full name, phone number, departure and destination on the passenger list.
After filling out, the declaration is kept by the driver and placed together with the "Contract for transporting passengers by car" that was issued by Huy Hoang company at the beginning.
From individual customers buying tickets from Vung Tau City to Ho Chi Minh City, we suddenly became customers in a tour group without knowing it, and at the same time a mysterious character appeared to "sign a contract" to rent a car with Huy Hoang Company on our behalf.
Where did the information about the person who signed the contract to transport passengers by car with Huy Hoang come from? Why didn't the bus company inform us that the limousine we were riding in had been turned into a "contract car"? Could it be that it was a "ghost contract" that helped the bus company bypass the authorities when they were inspected?... are the questions that we and many passengers have.
Before that, when we got on the bus, Huy Hoang company gave us a “free” tour around Vung Tau City so that the driver could pick up passengers. The bus departed from 312 Nguyen An Ninh, the driver drove around the routes and did not forget to call the passengers to come to the pre-arranged addresses to wait for the bus.
To pick up all the passengers, the driver spent about 30 minutes driving around Vung Tau City. Those who had boarded the bus earlier or left from the ticket office like us had to wait.
Picking up passengers, the driver did not turn off the engine but instead quickly pulled over and turned on the signal lights to avoid being fined by the authorities for illegal parking. Picking up one person after another, the Huy Hoang driver continuously pressed his phone, loudly reading the address and the command: "Get out, the car is here."
After 30 minutes of picking up passengers, the limousine carrying us finally left Vung Tau City to head towards Highway 51, heading towards Ho Chi Minh City. The limousine carrying us kept going, the passengers did not have tickets but the driver did not worry at all. Arriving at Long Thanh District, Dong Nai Province, the limousine suddenly turned into a rest stop.
Similar to Hoa Mai, Huy Hoang bus company collected 200,000 VND from passengers during a stopover on Highway 51 (in Long Thanh district, Dong Nai). However, this money collection took place without any bus ticket or receipt being provided to the passengers. The driver did not even bother to ask the passengers their names or whether the information matched the list provided initially.
When collecting the fare, the driver counted the heads, got the required amount, then slammed the door shut. That was the end of the fare collection!
When we asked, we only received a hasty reply from the driver , “It’s the same everywhere.” Even the passengers who were traveling with us didn’t seem to care much about whether they had tickets or not.
At a time when passenger transport activities are "hot" and "tightened" more than ever, are Huy Hoang and Hoa Mai "challenging" the authorities?
Who is responsible for all this chaos after “transforming” fixed-route buses into contract buses, collecting money but not issuing tickets?
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