Passengers at Giáp Bát Bus Station. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — The number of passengers at bus stations in Hà Nội during the upcoming Tết (Lunar New Year) holiday is expected to increase 3-4 times compared to normal days.  

Phạm Mạnh Hùng, director of the Hà Nội Bus Station Company, said that the Lunar New Year holiday will last 9 days so this is a time when people have a high demand for travel to return to their home and go on spring excursions, and return to the city after the holiday.

"The number of passengers will dramatically increase from February 10. It is expected that the number of passengers passing through the terminal during the holiday will increase by approximately 300-400 per cent compared to normal days," Hùng said.

With the current operating conditions of transport vehicles at the terminals averaging around 30-50 per cent of their carrying capacity, Hùng affirmed that the number of vehicles is basically still sufficient to meet the travel needs of passengers.

However, for some routes such as Quảng Ninh, Thanh Hóa, Thái Bình, Sơn La and Lào Cai, traffic congestion may occur at certain times, but the number of vehicles on the route and additional reserve vehicles will still be able to transport all passengers within the day.

An estimated 2,450 reserve buses are expected to be added to serve passengers during the entire holiday period, including about 1,110 buses at Giáp Bát Station, 320 at Gia Lâm Station, and 1,000 at Mỹ Đình Station.

In addition, other intercity bus routes will help reduce the number of passengers traveling on short routes.

Specifically, at Giáp Bát Station – in the south of the city – the peak passenger volume during peak days is approximately 16,000 passengers per day, a 4-time increase compared to normal days; the expected number of buses is 850-900 buses per day.

The routes to provinces to the south of Hà Nội like Nam Định, Thái Bình, Ninh Bình and Thanh Hóa will receive a large number of passengers.

At Gia Lâm Station – northeast of the city, the peak passenger volume during busy days is around 4,000 passengers per day, an increase of about 3.5 times compared to normal days. The expected number of buses is 400 buses per day, mainly concentrated on routes such as Hải Phòng, Quảng Ninh and Bắc Giang.

At Mỹ Đình Station – in the eastern part of the city, the number of passengers on peak days is approximately 17,000 per day, an increase of over 3.5 times compared to normal days with the number of buses exceeding 950 per day, mainly on routes to the northern mountainous provinces of Hòa Bình, Hà Giang, Lào Cai, Yên Bái, Điện Biên, Sơn La, Lai Châu, Quảng Ninh and Cao Bằng.

To ensure passenger travel needs are met during the holiday, the company has proactively developed contingency plans, signed contracts with vehicle rental companies, and prepared vehicles to alleviate passenger congestion in urgent situations.

To ensure passenger travel needs are met during the Lunar New Year holiday, Hanoi Bus Station Joint Stock Company has proactively developed contingency plans, signed contracts with vehicle rental companies, and prepared vehicles to alleviate passenger congestion in case additional vehicles from other units are insufficient to meet passenger demand, or buses on the route cannot arrive in time due to traffic congestion.

The company has also requested the Hà Nội Department of Construction to consider and issue 700 additional vehicle permits to alleviate passenger congestion during peak periods.

Inspection at stations will be further enhanced to prevent and detect transportation of explosives, flammable materials, prohibited goods, and counterfeit goods as well as crack down on social vices such as gambling, touting, and soliciting passengers.

The company will coordinate with functional forces to expel and deal with vehicles that stop and pick up passengers illegally in front of exits, causing disorder and traffic congestion.

“The stations will strengthen inspections of vehicles and drivers in accordance with current regulations. We will absolutely not allow overloaded vehicles or tickets sold at prices higher than the registered rates,” Hùng said. — VNS