The Ho Chi Minh City - Con Dao high-speed ferry route has been suspended since July 29, after 2 months of ineffective operation. The reason given by Phu Quoc High-Speed Ferry Joint Stock Company (Phu Quoc Express - the investor) is the inadequacy of port conditions and road connections, making it difficult to attract passengers. Meanwhile, many passengers believe that the operator has not fulfilled its commitment to transfer passengers for free!
Passenger numbers are less than 50% of capacity.
Vu Van Khuong, General Director of Phu Quoc Expressway Joint Stock Company, said that in the past, the operation of the route still had many shortcomings, affecting the choice of tourists such as: Saigon - Hiep Phuoc port is too far from the city center, passengers have to transfer from the center to the pier or passengers have to travel by themselves; the weather affects the efficiency of passenger transport activities.
Therefore, the unit has temporarily suspended passenger transport on this route to find a more suitable solution. After finding a suitable solution, it will submit it to the authorities for consideration and arrangement to resume operations. According to Mr. Khuong, after nearly 2 months of operation, the number of passengers has reached less than 50% of capacity per trip. Of which, the average number of passengers on weekdays is about 200 passengers, increasing to 600-700 passengers/trip on weekends, lower than the expected average occupancy rate of 70%-80% and also lower than the Vung Tau - Con Dao route.
“Since its opening, the company has not received any feedback from customers about the vehicles or services on the ship, mainly complaining about the inconvenience of traveling and boarding at the Ho Chi Minh City terminal. When implementing the route, anticipating that the port to receive passengers was more than 20km from the city center, the company arranged shuttle buses but there were still some shortcomings. Not to mention that the unit mainly operates maritime activities, so it lacks experience on the road,” Mr. Khuong affirmed.
From the passenger perspective, Mr. Pham Nguyen Thanh (living in Ho Chi Minh City) said that in the past, traveling to Con Dao by plane was quite expensive, especially during holidays and weekends. Since the high-speed boat route was introduced, he and his friends have decided to choose this means of transport.
“The service on the ship is good, but the journey from the center of Ho Chi Minh City to Hiep Phuoc port is quite difficult. My group of friends and I from District 12 rode motorbikes around looking for the way to the port and it took 1 hour and 32 minutes to reach the pier. Along the way, we had to look at the map many times because we were not familiar with the road. Not to mention, from the motorbike parking lot to the port is more than 1km, there are many passengers but the shuttle bus is very limited, many people walk with their luggage. When returning, many passengers could not catch a bus back to the center. If passengers living in the city still have difficulty traveling, then tourists from far away and the elderly will definitely be discouraged,” said Mr. Thanh.
Resolving difficulties in traffic connection and passenger pick-up and drop-off
Also in the water transport business, Director of Thuong Nhat Company Limited (Saigon Waterbus - a river bus operator in Ho Chi Minh City) Nguyen Kim Toan said that Hiep Phuoc port is far from the city center, so even though there are cars picking up at Bach Dang wharf (District 1), customers still face inconvenience because of many transit steps, not to mention cumbersome registration procedures. Customers traveling by private car have to pay an additional fee to enter and exit the port, in addition to the ticket price. Services in the port area are not yet developed, traffic connections are still inadequate, making it difficult to catch a taxi, causing inconvenience to customers.
Sharing the same view, many experts said that the management agency needs to calculate and coordinate with businesses to remove difficulties in traffic connection at Hiep Phuoc port. In particular, it is necessary to study the plan to use Ben Nghe port (District 4, near the center) for ships to enter and exit, creating convenience for passengers. This is also consistent with the policy of planning large-scale water ports on the Saigon River to develop river tourism in the city.
In case the ship still departs from Hiep Phuoc port, the operating unit needs to organize the pick-up and drop-off of passengers according to the package model, which is included in the ticket cost. In addition, more attention needs to be paid to waterway traffic connections, piers for yachts, tourist ships... At the same time, the shipping line needs to have more preferential policies to attract customers such as serving food and drinks throughout the route.
According to the assessment of the HCM City Department of Transport, the high-speed ferry route from HCM City to Con Dao has been operating safely in accordance with regulations, each departure is strictly inspected by the Regional Maritime Port Authority and the Border Guard. This is the first fixed passenger transport route from the shore to the island to be tested, so the forecast of the number of passengers by the enterprise is not accurate, currently only reaching 30% - 40% of operating capacity.
Regarding the sudden suspension of the Ho Chi Minh City - Con Dao high-speed train, Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Transport Bui Hoa An said that the department is coordinating with the Ho Chi Minh City Maritime Port Authority to discuss with businesses to assess the situation related to the operation of this high-speed train route.
Through working, the parties will find solutions to encourage and support businesses, while helping passengers travel on the Ho Chi Minh City - Con Dao route conveniently at a reasonable cost. Mr. Bui Hoa An said that this is a form of public transport and it takes time to create travel habits for people and improve service quality to attract people.
Phu Quoc Express General Director Vu Van Khuong said that the arrangement of pick-up locations in the inner city had been considered by the company before the ship began operating. However, this is difficult because large ships operating at sea, when going deep into the inner city, will not be able to go fast because they create big waves, affecting other vehicles and the two river banks. If they run slowly, the travel time will be longer. In the long term, the company is looking for a more suitable solution to facilitate customers, especially at the Ho Chi Minh City terminal, to soon operate the ship again.
QUOC HUNG
Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/tuyen-tau-cao-toc-tphcm-con-dao-tam-dung-hoat-dong-bat-cap-ve-dieu-kien-ben-cang-ket-noi-duong-bo-post749827.html
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