Passenger coaches are parked at Mien Dong Coach Station. Coach operators will discount fares by up to 40% for trips from HCMC during the upcoming holidays of April 30 and May 1

Nguyen Hoang Huy, deputy director of Mien Dong Coach Station in Binh Thanh District, HCMC, said that the number of passengers this year is expected to grow 2% versus the number seen during the 2018 holidays.

The majority of passengers will take passenger coaches running on short- and medium-distance routes from HCMC to tourist attractions such as Vung Tau, Dalat, Phan Thiet and Nha Trang.

Mien Dong Coach Station will see the number of passengers climbing to 48,000 on peak days during the holidays, or some 1,600 coaches leaving and arriving at the station.

The hike in coach ticket prices, reaching a maximum of 40% compared with regular days, will take effect between April 26 and 28 and is intended to offset the cost of taking the almost-empty coaches back to the city ahead of the holiday, some coach operators remarked.

At Mien Tay Coach Station in Binh Tan District, the daily number of passengers on coaches from HCMC during the holidays of April 30 and May 1 is estimated at 62,000-65,000, inching up 2%-4% year-on-year. The spike in coach fares will not exceed 40% on regular days.

Apart from the upward adjustment in coach frequency, the HCMC Public Passenger Transport Management and Operation Center will also add 268 bus services, carrying passengers to recreational sites during the upcoming holidays.

As for the railway sector, Saigon Railway Transport Joint Stock Company will offer an additional 87 train services from HCMC to Phan Thiet, Nha Trang, Quy Nhon, Quang Ngai and Hanoi, with some 43,500 seats. SGT