Two buses with adjacent departure times on the same route of the same transport company are allowed to depart at the same time if they have enough passengers. However, the company must still comply with the regulations on the total number of trips per day.
Knowing the customer was in a hurry, still had to wait.
At 2:45 a.m. on December 13, at the Van Anh bus office in the northern bus station of Thanh Hoa City, many passengers who had purchased tickets were waiting to board the bus. The ticket seller said that the first two trips of the day at 3 a.m. and 4 a.m. were always full of passengers, most of whom were people going to see a doctor or to school in Hanoi, so they chose to leave early to be on time.
From January 1, 2025, two consecutive buses on the same route of the same company, if all tickets are sold out, will depart at the same time.
Mr. Vu Viet Duc (residing in Thanh Hoa City) said that he took his father to see a doctor at Hospital 108 (Hanoi). He had made an appointment with the doctor at 7:30 a.m. but was busy the day before so he did not have time to book a ticket for the 3 a.m. flight. This morning, he went to the station early to see if there were any passengers who booked the 3 a.m. flight but were not in a hurry and could change their tickets in advance, but there were none.
"I heard that the 4 o'clock bus is already full. If the bus could leave immediately, that would be great. Passengers wouldn't have to wait long," said Mr. Duc.
According to current regulations, if it is not a peak day of a holiday, Tet or weekend, when there is a large demand for passengers and they need to be cleared early, all daily trips of each fixed-route transport company must depart at the licensed time, regardless of whether the trip is full or not.
Mr. Nguyen Tien Dung, Deputy Director of Van Anh Travel and Transport Company Limited, said that most of the early morning trips of the company are always full of passengers who want to go to Hanoi early. Many passengers booked tickets late, the 3am trip was full so they had to wait another hour to be able to take the next trip.
"We know that the passengers are in a hurry, but the bus station did not issue an early departure order and the transport unit could not violate the regulations," said Mr. Dung.
Both the bus company and the passengers benefit.
Similarly, on tourist routes such as Hanoi - Sa Pa every Friday night, although many passengers have booked tickets, and many trips are even full, bus companies such as Sao Viet still have to comply with regulations on departure times.
Passengers take inter-provincial buses at Nuoc Ngam Bus Station, Hanoi. Illustration photo: Ta Hai.
However, with Circular No. 36/2024 of the Ministry of Transport taking effect from January 1, 2025, the above situation will end. The new regulation allows two buses with adjacent departure times on the same route of the same transport company to depart at the same time if there are enough passengers.
According to Mr. Nguyen Tien Dung (Van Anh bus company), the new regulation not only creates convenience for passengers by not having to wait long, but also helps businesses clear passengers early and improve service quality.
Mr. Do Van Bang, Chairman of the Hanoi Transport Association, also said that the above regulation is suitable for reality. Because for trips that have sold out, passengers who want to leave early do not necessarily have to wait until the exact departure time according to regulations.
"The new regulation has created more openness for fixed routes, thereby increasing competition with contract vehicles, especially contract vehicles disguised as fixed routes that are proactive in travel times, schedules, and itineraries," Mr. Bang acknowledged.
No change in total number of trips per day
The leader of the Department of Transport, Ministry of Transport said that according to the new regulation, two consecutive trips on the same route of the same enterprise must be sold out before they can depart at the same time as the previous trip; if they are from two different enterprises, they are not allowed.
This is to avoid the situation where two vehicles from two different transport units depart at the same time, which can cause competition for arrival time on the road, potentially posing a risk to traffic safety.
On the other hand, when two consecutive trips of a business have enough passengers and depart at the time of the previous trip, the business is not allowed to allow the vehicle to depart at the time of the next trip.
For example, a business has departure times at 3am, 4am, 5am; if two consecutive trips at 3am and 4am have enough passengers and depart at 3am, then at 4am, this business is not allowed to let any vehicle depart, and must wait until 5am for the next trip to depart. Thus, the transport unit must still comply with the regulations on the total number of trips per day that are licensed to operate.
This also facilitates other transport businesses on the same route with departure times between 3-5am to collect passengers during this time.
Tightly manage to avoid legal loopholes
A transport expert said that the above regulation is in line with the current transport trend, which focuses on passengers as the center of service. However, when implemented in practice, bus stations and authorities need to closely monitor to avoid businesses circumventing the law, leaving the station when the bus is not full, and competing unfairly with other businesses on the same route.
In particular, before issuing a departure order for a vehicle to leave the station at the same departure time as the previous trip, the bus station staff must coordinate with the bus company staff to count passengers and confirm that there are enough passengers on both trips before allowing departure.
In case of vehicles on the road, if the traffic police discover that a vehicle is allowed to leave the station early because it has enough passengers but not enough passengers on board, they must also impose strict penalties to ensure deterrence.
Source: https://www.baogiaothong.vn/xe-du-khach-khong-can-cho-gio-xuat-ben-192241217141209021.htm
Comment (0)