On January 23 (December 24), reporters recorded at Tam Ky bus station, Quang Nam, only a few people came to buy tickets at the ticket counters.
Driver Nguyen Cong Huy, who runs the Quang Nam - Gia Lai route, said the number of passengers booking tickets has decreased significantly compared to previous years. “At this time last year, Tam Ky bus station was very busy with passengers returning to their hometowns, but this year the number of passengers has only reached about 50%.”
According to the online bus ticket sales site vexere.com, the number of inter-provincial bus tickets of bus companies departing from Quang Nam on December 24 to 29 is still high, in contrast to the sold-out situation of previous years.
At Tam Ky station, the afternoon was quite quiet, passengers mainly took short trips.
Mr. Tran Minh Tham's family from Ho Chi Minh City returned to Quang Nam to visit relatives, then took the train to Hue on January 23. They said that buying tickets was easy, without any jostling. The ticket price of 500,000 VND/person is reasonable during the time near Tet.
"The train we bought tickets for was scheduled to depart at 11:50 a.m., but the previous train had not yet arrived at the station, so the departure time was pushed back nearly 2 hours from the listed time on the ticket," said Mr. Tham.
Tam Ky Station currently has 3 rail lines, 4 train cars and can serve 100 passengers at the same time. Each train stops at Tam Ky Station for only about 3 to 5 minutes.
Explaining the reason for the deserted station, a representative of Tam Ky station said that currently, most passengers book tickets online, so there are very few passengers at the station.
"Currently, customers are mainly buying tickets before Tet for trains to Hanoi and Hue (TN4, TN6, SE2, SE4, SE8, SE10), there are still many tickets left."
After Tet, the afternoon will be in Ho Chi Minh City. It is forecasted that the number of passengers will be concentrated from January 25 to 28 (ie December 26 - 29)" - said a representative of Tam Ky station.
Tam Ky station representative added that the train ticket prices for Tet this year compared to last year's Tet have not increased. Compared to normal days, the train ticket prices for Tet have increased from 30% to 40% depending on the route.
The Railway industry offers a 50% discount on tickets for children under 10 years old traveling with their parents on routes over 500 km during Tet. For students returning home early for Tet (not during peak days), the Railway industry also offers a 30% discount on tickets.
