Sharing at the seminar “Why haven’t passengers returned to bus stations?” held on the afternoon of April 24, Mr. Tran Hoang, Deputy Director of Hanoi Bus Station Joint Stock Company, said that after a long period of impact from the Covid-19 epidemic, the situation of transport activities at bus stations across the country in general and at bus stations of Hanoi Bus Station Company in particular, such as Giap Bat, My Dinh, and Gia Lam, decreased sharply in 2023, corresponding to 300,000 passengers/3 stations, accounting for 28%.
Specifically, My Dinh station decreased by over 30%; Giap Bat bus station decreased by 25%, while Gia Lam station decreased by nearly 50%.
PASSENGERS ENTERING STATIONS REDUCED BY 70%, FAKE VEHICLES OPERATE FREELY
The leadership of Hanoi Bus Station Joint Stock Company believes that in addition to negatively affecting the business situation of bus station operating enterprises, the decline in the number of passengers entering the station also affects social issues.
“Regarding passengers, the level of impact is more severe, the number of passengers decreased by about 52% across the company, of which Gia Lam Station decreased by nearly 70%. Along with that are issues of declining revenue and business profits. This is a very alarming number”.
Mr. Tran Hoang, Deputy Director of Hanoi Bus Station Joint Stock Company.
Because the inter-provincial fixed-route passenger transport system brings the highest social efficiency, transporting large volumes, transporting vehicles that have been inspected and controlled, but the system is gradually losing its role as the backbone of transportation. Therefore, in addition to affecting the economy of enterprises, this also brings consequences to society.
According to Mr. Nguyen Van Lap, Director of Nuoc Ngam Bus Station, before the Covid-19 epidemic, the bus station usually received about 600-700 vehicles per day, over 900 vehicles on holidays, but now it has decreased to only 250-300 vehicles/day. In March-April 2024 alone, the bus station received over 400 vehicles/day, a decrease of nearly 50%.
Explaining the reason for the sharp decline in passengers entering the station, Mr. Nguyen Cong Hung, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Automobile Transport Association, said that Decree No. 10/2020/ND-CP dated January 17, 2020, stipulates regulations on business and conditions for car transportation business, clearly stating the conditions for types of transportation business.
The Ministry of Public Security has also issued Circular 58 stipulating that vehicles used for transportation business must have their own license plate color.
“However, the number of contracted vehicles increased compared to fixed-route vehicles by tens of thousands of vehicles, not to mention the appearance of assembled vehicles and convenient trip vehicles that are also competing unfairly with fixed-route vehicles. These vehicles do not even change their license plate color according to regulations. These types of transportation operate at the same time, causing conflicts with each other,” Mr. Hung pointed out the shortcomings.
Meanwhile, people’s demand is increasing, the management conditions for contracted vehicles are too loose when they do not have to register to apply for a “lot” (passenger transport enterprises are allowed to park and enter and exit the bus station to pick up and drop off passengers) , do not register routes, drivers are not controlled, representative offices are springing up everywhere like small bus stations.
Currently, many contracted vehicle enterprises are disguised to pick up passengers, sell tickets, and establish offices to welcome/drop off passengers, causing chaos and making it impossible to manage.
It is worth noting that, according to the leaders of the Automobile Transport Association, enterprises that comply with the law are often subject to inspection and examination, but no one controls or handles contracted vehicle enterprises, causing a lot of resentment.
“It is agreed that we need to aim for what people love and prefer to use, but transportation is a type of transportation business that has conditions, so it is necessary to manage the aforementioned types of transportation.”
Also according to Mr. Hung, at the end of 2023 and the first months of 2023, when the functional forces took drastic action after the violations of the bus companies created very positive results, the bus companies that previously operated outside have entered the station such as Van Anh and Ha Lan.
In addition, the infrastructure at the bus stations has also been renovated, My Dinh bus station now has a VIP waiting room, Nuoc Ngam, Giap Bat, and Gia Lam bus stations also have many changes to improve the service quality for transport businesses and passengers.
BUS STATIONS AND FIXED-ROUTE VEHICLES REVEAL MANY INCONVENIENCES
According to Mr. Nguyen Van Lap, Director of Nuoc Ngam Bus Station, after the epidemic, passengers no longer enter the bus station, while the number of disguised contracted vehicles has increased. In fact, most of the current disguised contracted vehicle enterprises have mostly separated from the fixed-route enterprise.
“Due to the fact that the management and handling of disguised vehicles have not been carried out thoroughly, they have been able to attract customers from the bus station. This affects the organization of traffic. The responsibility and role of the locality are very important, it is necessary to assign responsibility to the head of the locality, because the inspection agency cannot inspect as closely as the locality, so it is necessary to enhance the role of local authorities in transportation activities”, Mr. Lap suggested.
Regarding the reason why transport enterprises leave the station to run outside, Ms. Phan Thi Thu Hien, Deputy Director of the Vietnam Road Administration, said that transport enterprises are not keen on entering the station not because they do not want to enter but there are many conditions that have not met the requirements of the business as well as the passengers.
First, on the issue of planning. For example, at Mien Dong Bus Station (HCMC), you can see that the infrastructure is very modern and spacious but there are no passengers. All bus companies are ready to enter the station if there are passengers, perhaps at a certain stage and scope, the planning of Mien Dong bus station is not suitable.
Second, urban traffic organization. The organization must be oriented towards the travel goals of passengers to ensure that when the vehicles drop passengers at the bus station, they must be consistent with the travel goals.
Third, connectivity includes more than just the bus station location.
“In fact, it is not possible to blame only businesses or bus stations, I have witnessed my family being dropped off at the beginning of the overpass. The parking is more inconvenient than going to the station, but people still want to go because it is convenient, they can catch connecting vehicles,” Ms. Hien said.
Fourth, regarding amenities, there are still many in-station vehicles that follow the old ways. For a certain group of customers, if the requirements of service quality, price, convenience and safety are met, people still choose to go to stations.
“It is necessary to honestly assess whether the quality of fixed-route vehicles has met passengers’ needs?” Ms. Hien raised the question.
Another objective factor to mention is that after Covid-19, many habits of people have changed. Passenger transportation by road must also be adjusted to suit people’s travel purposes.
“Recently, at a meeting of enterprises under the Passenger Transport Association, the enterprises sat down to discuss ways to best enter the station. I hope there will be close cooperation between the business and the bus station, to ensure quality, good connections so that passengers are willing to go to the station”, Ms. Hien hoped.
“It is necessary to review that the number of convenient trip vehicles outnumbered fixed-route vehicles. From September 2023, the Hanoi Department of Transport built a specialized report to assess this situation and focus on handling solutions. The city has also assigned responsibility to local governments to coordinate in handling disguised contracted vehicles, however, some business owners still evade the law, causing difficulties for functional forces. We cannot wait for comprehensive solutions but need to try to do well with the current regulations that businesses can do right away.
We also need to find ways to make inter-provincial transportation more attractive. Fixed-route vehicles have such advantages, it is necessary to clarify why they are
