Roads and bus stations in major cities were packed and traffic backed up on July 5 as potential students crowded universities for entrance examinations and headed home at the same time.
Traffic jams across in Hanoi (Photo by N.Q)
Students hoping to earn a spot in university from provinces surrounding Hanoi seemed to all leave at the same time after the one-and-a-half-day-long exams finished around noon.
Hoang Quoc Viet, Cau Giay, Xuan Thuy, Tay Son, Nguyen Luong Bang, and Giai Phong roads were filled by 10 am. One hour later, the routes towards suburban areas of Hanoi were so jammed up that vehicles had nowhere to go. Many drivers were forced to move up on sidewalks to get out of the mess.
Phu from Thai Nguyen Province said, “Traffic jams under such hot weather is horrible. I cannot get to the Thang Long Bridge from the University of Transport & Communications and it has been over an hour.”
Traffic jams on Pham Van Dong and Pham Hung roads lasted hours. Although traffic police tried to ease the congestion, vehicles carelessly broke the laws by crossing red lights and using wrong lanes. Consequently, the roads turned into chaos.
My Dinh, Gia Lam, Luong Yen, Giap Bat, and Nuoc Ngam bus stations were over crowded because thousands of potential students were packed together trying to buses and return to their homes.
Nguyen Manh Tien, Manager of My Dinh Bus Station said, “The number of passengers is predicted to increase dramatically on July 5 and 6. We will strictly punish drivers who create difficulties for people taking the exams.”
Many examinees were hoping to save money because buses offer them a discount price. Most buses were so crowded that passengers did not have enough space to stand.
Examinees fill bus stations buses (Photo by N.Q)
Following exams, parents and students rushed to return homes under the blazing heat
Pham Hung Road...
... Xuan Thuy Road...
... Heavy traffic jams on Pham Van Dong Road at 12.30pm
This examinee and her father were stuck on the road and did not know how to get out
Major jam on Pham Hung Road
Despite hundreds of buses at My Dinh Bus Station, passengers were still waiting
Thousands of examinees queued up to buy bus tickets to go home at 11pm
Examinees “discover” a way to cross under the gate to enter the bus station and find a bus
Crossing over the fence to catch a bus
Some caught paid the price for taxis to save time and effort
Bus fares are cheaper
In Da Nang City, examinees and their relatives were in a hurry to return home after exams. Most of them came from neighbouring provinces such as Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, Thua Thien Hue, Quang Binh, and Quang Tri.
(Photo by: Khanh Hong)
In Can Tho City, like some other cities, examinees stormed bus stations trying to get home. Despite regulated prices, most bus ticket fees from Can Tho to Ca Mau, Soc Trang, Kien Giang, Tien Giang, An Giang provinces went up to VND20,000-30,000 ($1.03-1.54), much more than regulated prices. T, a bus operator explained that due to the influx of passengers, many drivers are overcharging their passengers but bus operators could not control this situation.
Linh complained that the driver told him the ticket fare would not increase but when he got on the bus, the price went up to VND20,000 ($1.03) from Can Tho to Go Quao, Kien Giang.
Bus ticket fees went up to VND20,000-30,000 ($1.03-1.54) compared with other days (Photo by Ngo Nguyen)
A chaotic Can Tho Bus Station (Photo by Ngo Nguyen)
