A bus at Ben Thanh Market in HCM City. — VNA/VNS Photo Hoang Hai

Bus trips will increase on January 1 (one day) and from January 15 to February 3 (20 days).

Tran Chi Trung, director of the centre, said most buses would run only a half day on January 24, stopping at 12pm.

Five bus routes, however, will run on January 24 the entire day: No.1 Ben Thanh-Cho Lon Bus Station, No.20 Ben Thanh-Nha Be, No.65 Ben Thanh-An Suong Bus Station, No.74 An Suong Bus Station-Cu Chi Bus Station, and No.90 Binh Khanh ferry-Can Thanh.

On January 25, buses will run from 8am to 5pm instead of the usual schedule from 5am to 7pm.

On January 1, more trips will be scheduled for Bus No.61-3 from An Suong Bus Station to Thu Dau Mot Bus Station in Binh Duong Province and Bus No.61-8 from Mien Tay Coach Station to Dai Nam tourism complex in Binh Duong Province.

Meanwhile, the number of trips for 25 bus routes which mainly serve students will be reduced on January 1.

The number of students riding buses is expected to fall by 86 per cent during the holidays.

As many as 97 subsidised bus routes and 13 non-subsidised bus routes will have a lower number of trips during the period. Of these, trips of eight bus routes linking universities may stop or be adjusted for a few days.

However, the centre will schedule more trips for bus routes connecting parks and entertainment areas in the city.

In addition, 30-seat buses may be used on inter-provincial coach routes if overloading occurs during the period.

Higher coach fares

Mien Tay and Mien Dong coach stations said fares would not increase on January 1 but prices during the Tet holiday will go up by 60 per cent over regular fares.

The Mien Dong Coach Station will charge 20-60 per cent more for coach fares, depending on the route.

Tickets for the holiday will be sold at the station and on online booking sites between 5am and 7pm daily from December 25 to January 20.

The number of passengers at the Mien Dong Coach Station is expected to increase by 2 per cent during the holiday compared to last year, to 65,000 on a peak day, a representative of the station said.

The peak period will run from January 16-23, with the busiest day on January 22.

Coach fares at the Mien Tay Coach Station will be 40-60 per cent higher than normal fares. The station will sell tickets for Tet from January 4-19. — VNS

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