The bus is full, no need to wait for departure time.

Two buses with adjacent departure times on the same route operated by the same transport company are allowed to depart at the same time if they have enough passengers. However, the company must still comply with the regulations on the total number of trips per day.

Knowing the customer was in a hurry, still had to wait.

At 2:45 a.m. on December 13, at the Van Anh bus office in the northern bus station of Thanh Hoa City, many passengers who had purchased tickets were waiting to board the bus. The ticket seller said that the first two trips of the day at 3:00 a.m. and 4:00 a.m. were always full of passengers, most of whom were people going to see a doctor or to school in Hanoi , so they chose to leave early to be on time.

From January 1, 2025, two consecutive buses on the same route of the same company, if all tickets are sold out, will depart at the same time.

Mr. Vu Viet Duc (residing in Thanh Hoa City) said that he took his father to see a doctor at Hospital 108 (Hanoi). He had made an appointment with the doctor at 7:30 am, but due to being busy, he did not have time to book a ticket for the 3 am flight the day before. This morning, he went to the station early to see if there were any passengers who booked the 3 am flight but were not in a hurry and could change their tickets in advance, but there were none.

"I heard that the 4 o'clock bus is already full. If the bus could leave right away, that would be great, so passengers wouldn't have to wait long," said Mr. Duc.

According to current regulations, if it is not a peak day of a holiday, Tet or weekend, when there is a large passenger demand that needs to be cleared early, all daily trips of each fixed-route transport enterprise must depart at the licensed time, regardless of whether the trip is full or not.

Mr. Nguyen Tien Dung, Deputy Director of Van Anh Travel and Transport Company Limited, said that most of the early morning buses of the company are always full of passengers who want to go to Hanoi early. Many passengers booked tickets late, the 3am bus was full so they had to wait another hour to get on the next bus.

"We know the passengers are in a hurry, but the bus station did not issue an early departure order and the transport unit could not violate the regulations," said Mr. Dung.

Both the bus company and the passengers benefit.

Similarly, on tourist routes like Hanoi - Sa Pa every Friday evening, even though many passengers have booked tickets, and many trips are full, bus companies like Sao Viet still have to comply with regulations on departure times.

Passengers take inter-provincial buses at Nuoc Ngam Bus Station, Hanoi. Illustration photo: Ta Hai.

However, with Circular No. 36/2024 of the Ministry of Transport taking effect from January 1, 2025, the above situation will end. The new regulation allows two buses with adjacent departure times on the same route of the same transport company to depart at the same time if there are enough passengers.

According to Mr. Nguyen Tien Dung (Van Anh bus company), the new regulation not only creates convenience for passengers by not having to wait long, but also helps businesses clear passengers early and improve service quality.

Mr. Do Van Bang, Chairman of the Hanoi Transport Association, also said that the above regulation is suitable for reality. Because with sold-out trips, passengers who want to leave early do not necessarily have to wait until the scheduled departure time.

"The new regulation has created more openness for fixed routes, thereby increasing competition with contract vehicles, especially contract vehicles disguised as fixed routes that are proactive in travel times, schedules, and itineraries," Mr. Bang said.

No change in total number of trips per day

The leader of the Department of Transport, Ministry of Transport said that according to the new regulation, two consecutive buses on the same route of the same enterprise must sell out all tickets before they can depart at the same time as the previous trip; if they are buses of two different enterprises, they are not allowed.

This is to avoid the situation where two vehicles from two different transport units depart at the same time, which could cause competition for arrival time on the road, potentially posing a risk to traffic safety.

On the other hand, when two consecutive trips of a business have enough passengers and depart at the time of the previous trip, the business is not allowed to allow the vehicles to depart at the time of the next trip.

For example, a business has departure times at 3am, 4am, 5am; if two consecutive trips at 3am and 4am have enough passengers to depart at 3am, then at 4am, this business is not allowed to let any vehicle depart, and must wait until 5am for the next trip to depart. Thus, the transport unit must still comply with the regulations on the total number of trips per day that are licensed to operate.

This also creates convenience for other transport businesses on the same route with departure times between 3-5am to collect passengers during this time.

Tightly manage to avoid legal loopholes

A transport expert said that the above regulation is in line with the current transport trend, which focuses on passengers as the center of service. However, when implemented in practice, bus stations and authorities need to closely monitor to avoid businesses circumventing the law, leaving the station when the bus is not full, and competing unfairly with other businesses on the same route.

In particular, before issuing a departure order for a vehicle to leave the station at the same departure time as the previous trip, the bus station staff must coordinate with the bus company staff to count passengers and confirm that there are enough passengers on both trips before allowing departure.

In case a vehicle is on the road, if the traffic police discover that the vehicle is allowed to leave the station early because it has enough passengers but not enough passengers on board, they must also impose strict penalties to ensure deterrence.

Source: https://www.baogiaothong.vn/xe-du-khach-khong-can-cho-gio-xuat-ben-192241217141209021.htm