Passengers buy tickets at Miền Tây (Western) Bus Station in HCM City’s Bình Tân District. — VNA/VNS Photo Hoàng Hải

HCM CITY — Miền Tây (Western) and Miền Đông (Eastern) bus stations in HCM City will begin selling Tết (Lunar New Year) tickets next month at prices 40-60 per cent higher than on normal days.

The seven-day Tết holiday takes place from February 10 to 16 (from the 29th day of the last lunar month to the 5th day of the first lunar month).

The stations expect the number of passengers to fall by 10-15 per cent compared to the same period last year due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Tạ Chương Chín, director of Miền Đông (Eastern) Bus Station, said tickets for the holiday would be sold at the station between 5am and 7pm daily from January 12 to February 7.

Bus fares would increase by a maximum of 60 per cent during Tết.

The station was expected to see an increase in passengers in the February 5-10 period.

It planned to add 450 coaches on contract and tourist buses with more than 18,300 seats to serve travel demand during the holiday period.

A representative of Miền Tây (Western) Bus Station said that transport companies would not increase ticket prices on February 1.

The station would sell Tết tickets between January 22 and February 6.

From February 8 to 13 (from the 27th day of the last lunar month to the 2nd day of the first lunar month), bus fares would be 40 per cent higher than normal days.

The station was also planning to release more buses to meet demand during the holiday.

The two bus stations have asked the city’s Department of Transport take measures to reduce congestion around the stations, and handle illegal stops and unlicensed buses during the holiday.

The department will also work with transport departments in Tiền Giang, Bến Tre and Vĩnh Long provinces to regulate traffic on National Highway No 1A, as well as sections leading to Mỹ Thuận and Rach Miễu bridges and TP.HCM - Trung Lương Expressway, where traffic jams often occur on holidays. — VNS