Traffic jams around the bus station
Every day, Mr. Nguyen Huu Thanh in Tu Liem ward goes to work through the Pham Hung - My Dinh route. For him, congestion around My Dinh bus station has almost become a "specialty" every morning due to buses, buses, taxis, and motorbikes jostling, while inter-provincial buses continuously enter and exit, stopping to pick up and drop off passengers along the road.
Currently, Ring Road 3 area has some inter-provincial bus stations such as Gia Lam, My Dinh, Giap Bat, Nuoc Ngam. Mr. Binh hopes that when there is a new inter-provincial bus station system, combined with urban railways, it is likely to reduce traffic load, limit congestion, and his road to work will become more open.
According to the plan, the city will gradually convert functions, relocate bus stations in Ring Road 3. At the same time, allocate reasonable land funds (including underground spaces) to build parking spots and parking lots suitable for the needs of each area, associated with service systems, public transport, green parks, and beltways. Truck stations will be planned to be associated with logistics centers, zones and large industrial clusters.
Changing the mindset of bus station coordination
However, the relocation of inter-provincial bus stations outside Ring Road 3 also needs to pay attention to some factors. Mr. Phan Le Binh - traffic expert, Chief Representative of OCG Japan Consulting Office - said that congestion not only depends on the location of the bus station, but also on traffic organization, infrastructure connection and actual travel needs. If the bus station is moved away from the center, people will lose more time and travel costs. Passengers from provinces to Hanoi also have to travel longer distances to reach the inner city area, while inner city residents wanting to take passenger cars are also more inconvenient.
Another issue he mentioned is the competitive pressure from shared cars and limousines. According to him, although there is no complete legal corridor, 5-seater cars for on-site pick-up and drop-off are developing strongly because they are more convenient for passengers.
If bus companies seriously pick up and drop off passengers at inter-provincial bus stations very far from the center, they will be disadvantaged to compete," he said.
According to experts, instead of relocating the bus station far away, Hanoi needs to focus on improving traffic connections around the station, organizing reasonable routes and strictly handling the situation of vehicles stopping and picking up passengers illegally around the bus station area.
And Dr. Khuong Kim Tao - former Deputy Chief of Office of the National Traffic Safety Committee, Chairman of the Driver Training and Testing Association (Vietnam Automobile Transport Association) said that it is necessary to look at the lessons from the new Mien Dong Bus Station in Ho Chi Minh City. When the bus station is pushed too far from the center, passengers will have difficulty accessing it because they have to spend more travel costs.
Mr. Tao analyzed that if a passenger car carrying about 40-45 people is forced to stop at a location too far from the center, it will mean that dozens of taxis and motorbike taxis will need to go out to pick up passengers back to the inner city.
Therefore, the current bus stations are still serving people quite effectively and need to continue to share transport volume in the future.
He proposed the principle of planning bus stations in the coming time in three main directions. First, bus stations need to be located close to the ring roads for passenger cars to easily access. Second, they must be arranged along the gateways to the Capital. Third, bus stations need to be located near or in areas developed according to the TOD model, i.e., associated with elevated subway stations and subways.
Regarding operation management, he proposed changing the thinking of coordinating bus stations in the direction of connecting data between bus stations, transport businesses and passengers. Passenger cars can stop at many different stations to drop off passengers according to actual needs, instead of just being fixed at one point as at present.
