Most transport companies have made plans to increase the number of trips and routes to serve the year’s peak travel period. However, because of the Covid-19 pandemic, they are worried that the number of passengers will drop, resulting in a decrease in revenue during the Tet holiday.

The number of passengers traveling on New Year's Day 2021
via East and West bus stations will probably decrease. Photo T.D

The number of passengers expected to decrease

Civil servants, officials and employees have three days off for the 2021 New Year, but due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the demand for travel at major bus stations is forecast to decrease compared to last year. Therefore, many transport units plan to transport later than usual to estimate the real number of passengers.

According to Tran Van Phuong, Deputy General Director of Western bus station, on New Year's Day 2021, fares will be listed at the ticket counters without any increase. The bus station management will regularly check to avoid sales over the prescribed fare. Notably, due to the pandemic, the number of passengers traveling to other provinces via the Western bus station this year is forecast to decrease by 5-10% over the same period last year.

Phan Thi Thu Hien, Deputy Director of the Directorate of Roads of Vietnam, said to ensure traffic order and safety during the peak holidays in 2021, the General Department has asked the Road Administration Department to review all road signboards to promptly supplement and strengthen the traffic force, take measures to promptly handle traffic incidents.

Simultaneously, make a plan to arrange human resources to directly coordinate with functional forces in organizing traffic regulations in case of congestion. The General Department also asked all national bus stations to make a plan for reinforced vehicles. However, it is forecasted that the number of passengers arriving at bus stations is unlikely to increase dramatically.

The expected peak day is December 31st with around 30,000-32,000 visitors. Currently, the station has a plan to mobilize vehicles to increase route deviations, buses, and contract cars to serve passengers in case of increased fluctuations. Additionally, a roadmap to respond in case of traffic jams has been prepared.

Similarly, the representative of the East Bus Station forecasted that the number of visitors passing through the station on this occasion decreased by 5-10% over the same period last year. It is expected that the number of tourists mainly increases on the evening of December 31, estimated at 25,000-30,000 passengers per day, focusing on a number of routes with short distance to tourist centers such as Vung Tau, Da Lat, Phan Thiet, and Nha Trang.

In Hanoi, bus stations forecast that the number of passengers will increase significantly compared to weekdays and be even higher at weekends, but not more than the same period last year.

Regarding the number of passengers on the Lunar New Year, talking to the Customs News, a representative of Duc Muoi Bus said during the Lunar New Year, the number of visitors from Hanoi to provinces increased by 30-50% normally. However, this year, because vehicles in operating bus stations only reach an average of about 30-50% of the vehicle tonnage factor, the number of existing vehicles can meet passengers’ demand for travel and will not change significantly.

Meet the needs of passengers

Due to the impact of the pandemic, transport enterprises have faced a turbulent year because of social distancing. Thus, they put high expectations on the number of visitors before, during and after the Lunar New Year to recoup revenue after a difficult year.

Compared to this time last year, the number of fixed-route vehicles has decreased because some transport companies had to stop operations or cut the number of trips due to the pandemic. According to forecasts of many transport companies, every year, revenue from Lunar New Year transport will increase by about 50% - 60% compared to other times of the year. However, with the current situation, revenue is expected to increase only 10-30% as vehicles are not operating at full capacity.

According to Nguyen Van Muoi, a representative of Duc Muoi Bus, this year the company deployed a 30% discount for early booking contracts for those returning home to welcome the Lunar New Year. This helps the firm estimate the actual needs of passengers to offer a competitive price. Additionally, besides the current trips, the firm will expand destinations by 3-5 points to increase the number of passengers.

In fact, the peak of the Tet season usually falls between December 23 and 29, and from January 6 to 10 after Tet (lunar calendar). From the beginning of December 2020, Doan Ket Transport Cooperative has built a plan. According to Trieu Thi Thu Phuong, Director of Doan Ket Transport Cooperative, at the end of this year, they will add five passenger cars, bringing the total number of vehicles to 45.

In case of a sudden increase in the number of passengers, Mai Linh Willer Co., Ltd., Thanh Hoa branch has invested nearly VND10 billion to increase the number of vehicles serving the Thanh Hoa - Hanoi route and vice versa. Along with that, the company also increased trips to serve the peak days of the New Year and Lunar New Year.

In Hanoi, the number of backup cars for the whole peak phase was 2,030 vehicles. Of which, Giap Bat bus station has 905 vehicles; Gia Lam bus station has 290 vehicles and My Dinh bus station has 835 vehicles. In addition, the adjacent high frequency bus routes can reduce the volume of intercity passengers traveling on short routes.

In addition to building and implementing transport plans for the two peak occasions of the Tet holiday, businesses focus on strengthening measures to ensure safety amid the pandemic, preventing spreading the virus to the community through passenger transport activities.