On the afternoon of January 18, the atmosphere at the new Eastern Bus Station (Thu Duc City) was completely opposite to the expectations of a modern bus station.
The waiting area is spacious and comfortable but there are only a few dozen passengers. In 30 minutes, the number of people coming to buy tickets is very small.
With an investment of more than VND4,000 billion, the first phase was completed at a cost of VND740 billion, the new Mien Dong bus station is planned to serve more than 7 million passengers per year. However, since its opening in 2020, the station has only operated at about 5% of its capacity.
While inside the bus station there were few passengers, along Highway 1 through Thu Duc City, many people with their belongings sat waiting for "illegal buses" in the dusty and hot atmosphere.
At the fixed pick-up and drop-off point on National Highway 1, in front of Linh Trung 1 Export Processing Zone, many passenger buses stopped and parked illegally.
According to regulations, passenger buses are only allowed to stop for no more than 3 minutes, but in reality, many buses park for up to 30 minutes or even an hour to pick up passengers.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Thuy (40 years old), a worker at Linh Trung 1 Export Processing Zone, said she chose to take a "pirate bus" instead of going to the new Mien Dong bus station.
“The ticket price from Ho Chi Minh City to Binh Dinh is around 400,000 VND on normal days, but during Tet it can double. Even though the ticket price is higher than at the station, I still accept it because the bus is close to home and easy to catch,” Ms. Thuy shared.
Ms. Thuy added that going to the station to buy tickets is inconvenient due to the long distance and difficulty in finding suitable sleeper tickets.
About 2km from this point, at Hung Nghia parking lot (No. 180 National Highway 1, Tam Binh Ward, Thu Duc) is also bustling with cars and passengers, no different from a miniature bus station.
Many "illegal cars" stopped and waited to collect passengers who had booked in advance or passersby.
A similar situation occurred at Tam Binh 2 gas station, where "illegal cars" stopped openly to pick up passengers.
According to the representative of the new Eastern bus station, the operation of illegal buses and stations is the main reason for the decrease in passenger numbers.
Many bus companies organize pick-up and drop-off at areas near the station or open offices nearby to avoid having to go to the official station.
Besides, many transport businesses have moved to other bus stations in the city or used contract vehicles, causing Mien Dong bus station to lose potential customers.
According to the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Transport, there are currently 79 illegal pick-up and drop-off points in the city, mainly concentrated in Thu Duc City (22 points), District 5 (18 points), District 1 and District 10 (8 points).
In Thu Duc City, illegal bus stations are densely located on National Highway 1, National Highway 13, Kha Van Can Street (Hiep Binh Chanh Ward), Lien Phuong Street (Phu Huu Ward) and the area near the new Mien Dong bus station.
From November 25, 2024 to present, Ho Chi Minh City Traffic Police have handled more than 1,850 cases of "illegal buses and stations".
Of these, there were 1,125 cases of illegal parking, 90 cases of picking up and dropping off passengers at the wrong place, and 31 cases of violating transportation contracts...
Lieutenant Colonel Le Manh Ha - Deputy Chief of Staff, Ho Chi Minh City Police, said the campaign to check "illegal buses and bus stations" will last until February 14, 2025.
Authorities will increase surveillance through camera systems, journey monitoring data and direct inspection at the scene.
