A motorbike taxi driver took tourists to the Buddha statue area at Ong Nui Pagoda without a helmet and drove at high speed, which was very dangerous - Photo: LAM THIEN
Recently, many readers have reported to Tuoi Tre Online that many motorbike taxi drivers carry passengers on the concrete slope from the foot to the top of the mountain, where the famous Ong Nui Pagoda is located, visited by tourists from everywhere, especially during Tet.
According to readers' feedback, motorbike taxi drivers carrying passengers do not wear helmets and drive fast, making them feel unsafe.
Motorbike taxi carrying passengers running noisily, no helmets
In fact, we found that when tourists visit Ong Nui Pagoda, according to regulations, they must walk from the foot of the mountain to the top of the mountain - where the largest sitting Buddha statue in Southeast Asia is located. This road is 500m long, steep and winding. Many people who are not strong enough to walk have to hire a motorbike taxi to take them up.
A tourist sat on the back of a motorbike taxi in a very precarious position, without a helmet on his head.
Outside the pagoda, the motorbike taxi drivers are mostly people living near Ong Nui Pagoda. These motorbike taxi drivers take passengers on the side road to the pagoda (called To Pagoda) with a fare of 40,000 VND/person going up, and 30,000 VND/person going down.
When arriving at the To Pagoda area (about 200m from the Buddha statue), they let the visitors walk up to the Buddha statue area for sightseeing.
When visitors enter the temple, there is a self-managed motorbike taxi team with a few dozen people to pick them up and drop them off. The team's "station" is right next to the temple's entrance gate. There, on a tree, there is a price list: 50,000 VND/person for going up, 30,000 VND/person for going down.
When seeing tourists entering the temple and starting to climb the hill, team members immediately drove over to greet them.
It is worth mentioning that all members of the self-managed motorbike taxi team inside and outside the temple when taking visitors up and down to visit the temple do not wear helmets.
Motorbike taxi carrying 3 people without helmets going uphill
"The road up the mountain is steep and winding, but drivers and tourists are carefree and do not wear helmets. We took a motorbike taxi and were worried about safety, so when we asked about helmets, the motorbike taxi drivers reassured us that it was a short trip, they were familiar with it, it was safe, no need to worry," said Le Quoc Huy (a tourist from Ho Chi Minh City).
Recording at the halfway point of the slope where motorbike taxis were taking tourists up and down, Tuoi Tre Online noticed that when going uphill, the drivers tried to turn the throttle very hard because the slope was steep. However, some people carrying passengers drove with one hand.
Meanwhile, the tourists sitting in the back were bareheaded and could only hold on to the driver. In the opposite direction, the vehicles were going downhill, most of them were going downhill very fast and no one was wearing a helmet.
This is a spontaneous motorbike taxi, will be handled immediately
Talking to us, Mr. Tran Dinh Truc - Chairman of Cat Tien Commune People's Committee - said he had received information about motorbike taxi drivers outside and inside Ong Nui Pagoda in the past time.
The motorbike taxis pick up passengers right inside the temple gate, very messy.
"These are spontaneous motorbike taxi drivers. They drive very chaotically and recklessly. I will work with Ong Nui Pagoda to immediately eliminate this self-managed motorbike taxi team, and advise people living around the pagoda not to carry tourists recklessly like that," said Mr. Truc.
Mr. Lam Hai Giang - Vice Chairman of Binh Dinh Provincial People's Committee - also said that motorbike taxis carrying tourists up and down the mountain for sightseeing like that is too dangerous.
"I will direct the local authorities to rectify and handle this situation immediately. We must absolutely ensure the safety of tourists, we cannot let it be chaotic like this," Mr. Giang affirmed.
Ong Nui Pagoda, beautiful scenery of Binh DinhSource
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