Coach, train tickets for Tet witnessing low sales, despite attractive discounts
Train ticket demand for the upcoming Lunar New Year (Tet), the biggest annual holiday which falls in early February, is plunging due to public fear over COVID-19 transmission as thousands of new cases nationwide are confirmed each day. More than three weeks after the railway industry opened sales of train tickets for upcoming Tet with many attractive discount policies, the number of ticket bookings was quite low. Meanwhile, inter-provincial fixed-route bus operators have also kicked off the sale of Tet coach tickets, but there have been not many buyers. In light of COVID-19 impacts, public demand for travel is now on a downward trend.
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| A woman is seen buying rail tickets for the Tet 2022 train at the Da Nang Railway Station on the morning of December 1. Photo: THANH LAN |
As recorded at the Da Nang Railway Station over recent days, the volume of ticket sales for Tet 2022 trips is lower than previous years, and sadly, many days saw no ticket buyers, in contrast to the crowded scene recorded during pre-COVID-19 times.
At the ticket sales area at the city’s railway station, since the time of launching sales on November 15, there have been only a few rail tickets sold. Meanwhile, on the dsvn.vn ticket system, the Thong Nhat trains operating on SE2, SE4, SE6, SE8 from HCMC to Ha Noi departing from January 18, 2022 onwards still have a lot of seat vacancies.
Nguyen Huu Hai said that he had bought a return ticket for a train trip on January 30, 2022 in a very convenient way. Many years ago, he had to wait for hours to access the online booking system but could not make any reservations and had to go in-person to the station and wait in a long queue to make the ticket purchase.
On contrast, this year, it only took about five minutes to buy a ticket. “We don't have to wait in line for the purchase. Given the low number of customers, it is easy to pick up tickets”, Hai said.
Meanwhile, many people are now reluctant to buy train tickets as they cannot decide whether or not to return to their hometowns to celebrate Tet with their families due to the complicated developments of the COVID-19.
Ms. Le Thi Tuyen, Captain of the Passenger Transport Team under the Da Nang Railway Transport said that, since November 15, only 30 Tet train tickets were sold by her unit.
According to recent announcement of the Saigon Railway Transport Joint Stock Company, for the New Year of the Tiger in 2022, the railway industry only opens ticket sales for four pairs of passenger trains on the HCMC- Ha Noi route and one pair of HCMC - Da Nang route in accordance with the regulations adopted by the Ministry of Transport.
In particular, those who make the purchase of tickets before January 1, 2022 will enjoy a 30% discount in Value-Added Tax (VAT). Despite attractive discounts, the number of passengers ordering train tickets is still very modest.
With regard to trains schedules for the Tet holiday feature three separate phases.
The first one will run from January 1 - 29, 2022 (the 18th day - the 27th day of the last lunar month).
The second is slated to take place from January 30 to February 3, 2022 (the 28th day of the last lunar month- the 3rd day of the first lunar month.
The last one, during the post-Tet period, is scheduled to be from February 4 - 13, 2022 (from the 4th day to the 13th day of the first lunar month).
The ticket purchase can be directly made at train stations or authorized ticket agents of VNR, through helplines at 19000109 – 19001520 or carried out online at the websites of dsvn.vn, vetauonline.vn and vetau.com.vn or such mobile apps as Momo, Viettelpay, VNpay, Vimo and Internet Banking.
In order to ensure the safety of passengers, trains running on the occasion of Tet 2022 shall strictly adhere to COVID-19 prevention measures in accordance with regulations mandated by the competent authorities.
According to Mr. Pham Loi, the General Director of General Director of Da Nang-based Transportation and Bus Station Management JSC, a number of fixed routes for inter-provincial passenger transport have been allowed to come back into operation, but the number of passengers is still low.
Reporting by THANH LAN – Translating by A. THU