Transportdemand is expected to increase by 30 to 50 percent during Tet. NguyenTung Anh, Director of the Hanoi Bus Station Company, said it planned toadd 3,400 extra bus and coach trips.
At Giap Bat station, thenumber of passengers was expected to reach 25,000 to 30,000 per dayduring Tet. An estimated 1,150 trips would be made each day to meetdemand, he said.
At My Dinh station in Cau Giay district, around1,550 trips would be made each day to meet the increased number ofpassengers: 30,000 to 35,000 per day.
Anh said the company hadinstructed transport firms to take measures to ensure passengers' safetyand to not increase ticket prices.
To ensure traffic safety andprevent traffic jams during Tet, Nguyen Quoc Hung, the Vice Chairman ofHanoi People's Committee, has instructed the municipal transportdepartment to work with police to increase inspections, especially ininner districts and on national highways. More police would be alsoassigned to monitor congested areas and help traffic run smoothly, hesaid.
Kieu Nam Thanh, General Director of the Mien Tay (West) BusStation in HCM City, said 28,000-30,000 passengers were expected everyday during the holidays, 25-30 percent higher than on normal days.
The routes with the highest demand would be to Tien Giang and Ben Tre provinces, he said.
The station would take buses off uncrowded routes and operate them on those with large demand, he said.
Ithas sought permission from the Department of Transport to use busesrunning within the city for inter-provincial services if it cannot meetdemand otherwise, he said.
The Mien Dong (East) Bus Station estimated the number of passengers to increase by 10-20 percent.
Thespike in passenger numbers is expected to be particularly sharp onDecember 31 and on buses to Ba Ria – Vung Tau province, Phan Thiet, NhaTrang, and Da Lat, which are popular tourist destinations.
Meanwhile,the HCM City Public Passenger Transport Operation and Management Centreplans to add more than 1,300 trips to the normal schedule to the city'sbus stations, amusement places, and neighbouring provinces during theholidays.
Services on school and university routes would be reduced or suspended, the centre said.
LeHuu Chau, Director of the HCM City Bridge and Ferry Works One-Member CoLtd, said the Cat Lai Ferry Station would operate around the clock onJanuary 1.
The station, which transports passengers from HCMCity's District 2 to Dong Nai province's Nhon Trach district, will pressinto use all 13 of its ferries, including ones that can carry 100-200tonnes.
"If the number of passengers increases by too much, we will increase the number of trips by 60-tonne ferries," Chau said.
These ferry trips are estimated to increase from 180 on normal days to 250 on the holiday.
TheBinh Khanh Ferry Station between Can Gio and Nha Be districts expects a30 percent increase in trips to serve 26,000 passengers every day.
TheSai Gon Railway Station will operate more trains to Phan Thiet, NhaTrang, and Quy Nhon starting with three additional ones on December 31to Nha Trang and Quy Nhon.-VNA