Toan, a representative of the bus operator for Hanoi-Nam Dinh route, said business had fallen after moving to Nuoc Ngam Station. During peak hours, they only have six to seven passengers and will fall into financial trouble if the situation continues.

Toan went on to say that there were a lot of meetings but nothing had been solved. Illegal stations are sprouting up and more buses are picking passengers at random locations on the street. Meanwhile, the inspections from the Department of Transport have failed to bring any positive results.

"We'll face huge losses if this goes on so we want the Department of Transport to decide. If the department insists on maintaining the decision, we'll have to declare bankruptcy," he said.

Hai, owner of a transport firm in Ninh Binh Province, said they were losing passengers after moving from My Dinh Station to Nuoc Ngam Station. "Some buses only have four to five passengers. The fees are not enough to pay their salaries. Other companies are also having to cover hundreds of millions in losses," she said.

Another owner said Hanoi authorities asked them to invest in My Dinh Station previously but now forced them to move, and this is affecting the authorities' credibility. Many owners said Hanoi’s authorities should give support to them.

"Who'll feel comfortable enough to invest and help Vietnam become better and richer?" she said.

Hanoi Department of Transport said they were gathering opinions from bus operators before giving an answer.

Beginning this year, the buses on routes departing from Hanoi to eight provinces including Dak Lak, Gia Lai, Ha Tinh, Nam Dinh, Nghe An, Thai Binh, Thanh Hoa, and Ninh Binh were asked to move from six different stations of My Dinh, Gia Lam, Yen Nghia, Son Tay, Troi and Phung, to Nuoc Ngam Station in Hoang Mai District to reduce congestion.

Dtinews