VietNamNet Bridge – Thousands of passengers flocked to HCM City’s Mien Dong coach station to purchase tickets for the upcoming lunar New Year holiday (Tet) on January 11.

This was the first day the coach station selling tickets for Tet holiday. As the number of passengers numbered thousands, the road around the coach station were seriously blocked from 7 am.

This Tet will last for eight days, the longest holiday in the year. This will be the chance for many people in HCM City to visit their parents who live in other provinces, to travel and for workers to return to their hometowns. Therefore the demand for coach tickets always rockets for the Tet holiday.

To ensure that they got tickets, hundreds of people went to the Mien Dong coach station at 4 am. “I arrived at the station at 4 am but when I came here, hundreds of people were queuing already. I struggled the entire morning to buy two tickets,” said a man named Tuan, who bought tickets to Can Tho city.

Dozens of guards were mobilized to keep order at the coach station but they failed to keep order. The station was in chaos.

“It is always a war at this station before the Tet holiday. I have experienced this chaos for many years. I’ve jostled since the early morning but I’ve not be able to get any tickets. Perhaps I will have to use illegal coach service,” Mr. Vu, whose hometown is the central province of Phu Yen, said disappointedly.

The chaos mainly occurred in front of the ticket booth of Mai Linh transportation company. This firm announced that it will continue selling tickets in the next several days.

Thuong Thanh Hai, Deputy Director of the Mien Dong coach station, said that many passengers are afraid to queue to buy tickets in the station so they catch illegal coaches on the road. However, they have to pay double or even triple while the service is poor.

Hai confirmed that his station will supply sufficient tickets for the Tet holidays.

The chaos at HCM City’s Mien Dong coach station:

This was the first day the coach station selling tickets for Tet holiday. As the number of passengers

numbered thousands, the road around the coach station were seriously blocked from 7 am.

PV