On the afternoon of January 22, Chin Nghia bus company announced that the route from Ho Chi Minh City to Quang Ngai on December 24-28 (February 3-7) no longer has sleeper tickets and high-quality limousines, only seats. This company sells tickets at counter 119 in the new Mien Dong station, Thu Duc city. Currently, customers mainly come here to ask to buy tickets for the same day, or come to pick up tickets and pay after booking online. Some customers came directly to ask for sleeper tickets on the days before Tet but only received head shakes from the ticket counter staff.

"Unable to find the ticket I wanted, I had to buy a seat back to Quang Ngai for more than 750,000 VND, even though I knew the journey would be very difficult," said Bui Tuan, 38 years old, adding that he chose to take a bus back to his hometown because plane and train tickets were too expensive for his budget, while there was only about a month left until Tet, so it was not easy to buy at this time.

A representative of Phuong Trang bus company also said that the company started accepting bookings for passengers traveling during Tet from the end of November 2023. However, due to the travel demand increasing 2-3 times compared to normal days, in just under a week, all tickets were booked.

Up to now, the company has increased its fleet three times with about 160 sleeper buses, prioritizing routes from Ho Chi Minh City to the Central region such as Binh Dinh, Quang Ngai, Da Nang... However, tickets have been sold out on peak days. The company is planning to mobilize buses from less-traveled routes to more-frequented routes to serve the travel needs during Tet.

Similarly, some other bus companies such as Binh Tam, Thanh Ban, Thuan Thao... operate routes from Ho Chi Minh City to Quang Ngai, Tuy Hoa (Phu Yen), most of which only have sleeper tickets on low-peak days.

Mr. Nguyen Lam Hai, Deputy Manager of the new Eastern Bus Station, said that the total number of seats provided by transport units at the station in the 10 days before Tet was about 87,000, and more than 39,000 have been sold, mostly sleeper tickets. During the peak days of December 24-28 of the lunar calendar, some "hot" routes to the Central region such as Da Nang, Quang Ngai, Quy Nhon, Phu Yen... had no more sleeper tickets due to high demand. Outside of this time, on December 20-23 and the two days before Tet, transport units still have many sleeper seats to serve customers.

"There are still many tickets for seated buses, ensuring safety and comfort because the company has recently focused on investing in improving quality. Passengers can rest assured when buying tickets," said Mr. Hai, recommending that passengers who travel outside the station should get information and check prices to avoid being overcharged, fake tickets, and uncontrolled quality.

Currently, during Tet, businesses operating at Mien Dong bus station are only allowed to increase ticket prices by 20-60% compared to normal days to compensate for empty buses. To avoid the situation of ticket prices being higher than the regulations, the station requires businesses to post fares at the counter for authorities to control. The bus station also operates a hotline during Tet to receive feedback and complaints from passengers.

For railways, Tet train tickets from Ho Chi Minh City, Binh Duong, Dong Nai to the Central region are also tense when most trains are full during peak days. After opening for sale from mid-October 2023, the railway industry has increased trains three times with about 14,000 seats on many routes from the South to Quang Ngai, Quy Nhon, Vinh, Hanoi...

However, from December 22 to 28, most of the sleeper cars are sold out, with only soft seats and extra seats left. Currently, there are only many tickets left during the low season from December 22 onwards and the two days before Tet.

Previously, in the plan to serve the Tet holiday, the railway industry planned to supply about 200,000 tickets. By January 19, the number of tickets sold was announced to have exceeded this plan, reaching 207,000. Many routes were "sold out", and trains were increased but still not enough to meet the increased travel demand. However, a representative of Saigon Railway Transport Joint Stock Company said that in addition to soft seats, many trains had additional seats added, so passengers could still monitor and book.

Train ticket prices for Tet this year have increased by 1-4% compared to last year. The most popular route from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi is priced at VND2.9 million and the lowest at VND1.9 million per ticket, an increase compared to before due to the impact of fuel prices and input costs. For the less popular route, ticket prices have decreased by 1-8% compared to last year. Currently, the railway industry has reduced ticket prices by 3% for trains departing from Saigon station on December 29 and traveling 1,000 km or more; reduced ticket prices by 2-8% for groups of 10 people or more; students receive a 20% discount on ticket prices...

According to Mr. Do Ngoc Hai, Head of the Transport Management Department, Ho Chi Minh City Department of Transport, during the Lunar New Year this year, the city's inter-provincial bus stations are expected to serve nearly 72,000 passengers per day, an increase of 18% over the same period last year. The number of passengers is equivalent to about 3,030 trips served per day. The stations have prepared plans to increase the number of buses, avoid a shortage of buses and are ready to clear the way if the number of passengers increases suddenly.

In addition to controlling ticket prices, drivers between the terminals in Ho Chi Minh City and other provinces and cities will also update traffic conditions and prepare a traffic control scenario if congestion occurs on the journey to pick up passengers. In addition, to serve people traveling and having fun during Tet, the City Public Transport Management Center will increase buses to entertainment areas and inter-provincial terminals to relieve passengers when congestion occurs.

Gia Minh