Measures aim to prevent holiday traffic gridlock

Police and bus terminal managers are working together to tackle traffic congestion which is likely to become a serious problem at coach stations and highways on Viet Nam National Day tomorrow, September 2nd.
On the annual National Day, the number of passengers flocking to terminals in Ha Noi increases by 50-100 per cent, said deputy director of the Ha Noi Terminal Management Company Nguyen Cong Bang.
As in previous years, serious traffic jams are expected on national highways leading into the city, including Giai Phong-Phap Van, Pham Hung and Nguyen Van Linh, due to the sudden rise in the number of people returning home to enjoy the four-day holiday or travelling, he said.
"The problem is compounded by the number of people who use unlicensed coaches, rather than boarding at the terminal," Bang said.
Nguyen Duc Hung, who lives near My Dinh Coach Terminal said that after leaving the terminal, many coaches cruise along Pham Hung Street looking for more passengers, causing traffic jams and even accidents.
Bang said to address the issue, the Ha Noi Terminal Management Company is putting on 105 more coaches to serve passengers, especially on routes to northern provinces including Thanh Hoa, Nam Dinh, Ninh Binh and Hai Phong.
The company also instructed bus terminal staff to increase inspections to stop coach assistants fighting over passengers, he said.
"We are determined to prevent overloaded and substandard coaches from leaving the terminals," Bang added.
The company will also work with police to punish unlicensed coach operators.
Nguyen Hong Thai, a traffic policeman of the Ha Noi Police said they had been all mobilised to keep public order on the holiday, especially on the main highways leading into the capital.
Trains, planes
Inter-provincial coach stations, railway stations and bus stations in HCM City are preparing for the upcoming National Day holiday period by adding more services.
Nguyen Ngoc Thua, director of the Mien Dong Coach Station, said some 25,000-26,000 people would be using his service today, an increase of 23 per cent against normal days and 8 per cent compared to last year’s National Day holiday.
The number of coaches at the station would be increased by 7 per cent, and inner-city buses would be used to run inter-provincial routes in case demand cannot be met.
Ticket prices to popular tourism localities, including Nha Trang, Phan Thiet in the central region and Vung Tau, will go up 30 per cent compared to normal.
"The price hikes are not higher than last year’s National Day holiday prices," Thua said.
The Mien Tay Coach Station has estimated that the number of passengers travelling to Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta provinces would increase by 5 per cent against last year’s holiday period.
On Sept 1-2, which are the peak days of the holiday, the station is expected to serve about 20,000-22,000 passengers a day.
On these days, the station will sell tickets from 3:30am to 10pm for passengers and add more coach trips for routes to Tien Giang, Ben Tre, Tra Vinh, Dong Thap, An Giang and Ca Mau provinces and Can Tho City.
The HCM City Public Passenger Transport Management and Operation Centre will increase by 2,000 the number of bus trips on 20 routes to popular entertainment places and inter-provincial coach stations, including Dam Sen and Suoi Tien parks.
The Sai Gon Railway Station will also add two more train trips on the HCM City-Nha Trang route beginning on September 1.
The number of people who have bought train tickets for the holiday period has increased by 20-30 per cent compared to last year, according to the Sai Gon Railway Station.