April 30 holiday travel demand hikes

The travel demand is expected to hike during the coming National Holiday April 30 and May 1 due to 5 consecutive days off. Transportation businesses have added more trips to serve the busy period. However, most of holiday train and coach tickets, especially the route Ho Chi Minh - Nha Trang City have been sold out.

Northern Coach Station.

According to Tran Viet Tung, Director of Railway Transport Nha Trang Branch, 4 pairs of trains are added to meet the increased travel demand expected to increase sharply this holiday. However, the tickets Nha Trang – Ho Chi Minh City and vice versa have been sold out. 10 pairs of trains are added to the route between Ho Chi Minh City and northern provinces. Tickets for April 28 and 29 have been sold out.

At coach stations, travelers from Nha Trang to cities and provinces are increasing slightly. The Ho Chi Minh - Nha Trang City tickets have been mostly sold out. Nguyen Cong Hai, Director of Nha Trang Southern Coach said, under the guidance of the Department of Transport, the coach has required transport businesses to get prepared for the possible drastic hike in festive travel demand. The coach has made plans for pick-up or drop-off service to prevent congestion and ensure safe security at the coach during the holiday.

According to Nguyen Van Dan, Director of Khanh Hoa Department of Transport, the holiday travel demand is expected to increase by 50% compared with normal days. The department required fixed routes transport businesses to jointly develop appropriate plans for the transport service during the peak period. In addition, fixed route vehicles are not allowed to provide pick-up or drop-off service at offices, transaction locations and booking offices (except coach stations); skip coach stations of the starting and finishing points, or transport passengers under contracts. 

The Department has required traffic inspectors to cooperate with units to regulate traffic flows to minimize traffic jams to assure travel convenience and safety; enhance inspection to deal with any violations related to pick-up or drop-off service, improper operation of journey monitoring devices.

The Department of Transport agreed the surcharge rate of up to 40%  (applicable only to Khanh Hoa - Ho Chi Minh City route and vice versa): from Ho Chi Minh City to Khanh Hoa (from April 28 to April 30) and from Khanh Hoa to Ho Chi Minh City (from the 1st to the end of 3rd of May). Fares on other routes remain unchanged during the holiday.

 T.N

Translated by N.T