HCMC – Most sleeper bus tickets to central Vietnam are about to be sold out as workers flock home earlier than usual due to massive layoffs.
Some transport operators reported that buses to central provinces from January 13 to 20 had been fully booked.
The Saigon Transportation Mechanical Corporation, a major bus operator in HCMC, said it would issue more tickets for certain routes and deploy more transport vehicles to meet the demand.
It would ramp up bus trips to 3,000 to cater to some 60,000 passengers in 10 days ahead of the 2023 Lunar New Year (Tet).
Though sleeper bus tickets to the central region were sold out, seater buses are still available at some operators such as Chin Nghia, Phuong Trang and Binh Tam, the Vietnam News Agency reported.
The old Mien Dong coach terminal forecast that passengers would rise steadily from January 11 before peaking between January 16 and 19 and would transport around 87,000 guests with 4,000 bus trips.
The station now only operates routes to the Central Highlands and provinces connected to National Highway 13.
Meanwhile, the Mien Tay coach terminal expects a 40% surge in travelers during the national holiday compared to the same period in 2022, with the number of buses departing the station 10 days ahead of Tet estimated at 12,000, carrying 320,000 people. January 18 to 20 is expected to be the busiest, with 1,550 departures and 49,000 passengers on January 18.
