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Thousands of people are flocking to and from bus and rail stations to return to their hometowns for the Lunar New Year, making for a busy capital.
The busiest stations, such as My Dinh, Giap Bat and Gia Lam have asked those who can to carpool in order to take some of the burden off the transport system.
Crowds at My Dinh Station
On January 24, My Dinh Station was crowded with people waiting in long lines to buy tickets and hire cars. Meanwhile, outside the station, hundreds of people, unable to secure tickets, waited for unlicensed buses and coaches.
One student, Nguyen Thi Hang, was waiting in line for a ticket to Quang Ninh Province said, “I ran to the station from school to catch a coach, but there were none available. I had to wait more than an hour. I wouldn’t have thought it would be so difficult to get home this year.”
She said that some of her friends took off school early to make sure they could hire cars.
Nguyen Manh Tien, Director of My Dinh Station, said the number of passengers has being soaring since last Friday, with students and workers accounting for the majority. The station has stepped up it’s operations to 150 daily coach trips daily from the previous 120. These are mostly to Viet Tri City in Phu Tho, Thai Nguyen, Tuyen Quang and Quang Ninh provinces.
The same situation is also seen at Giap Bat Station, particularly in the late afternoon, when there is the highest flow of people trying to go home for Tet.
Crowded bus stop
Carrying luggage
Waiting for a ride in the cold
Buses are not always available
Last resort: catching a roadside bus
More vehicles mean more traffic