Unlicensed coaches are hectically operating in Hanoi and HCM City because the lunar New Year is the best time for them to earn money, as the need for travel rises sharply.

HCM City and Hanoi are clamping down and, to date, have caught many coaches picking up passengers outside coach stations or at filling stations. Coaches are even picking up passengers on national highways – putting them at risk from the heavy traffic.

While illegal coach drivers still insist their service is good for passengers because their fair is less than official prices - in fact, the fair collected by these unlicensed coaches often remain high.

In addition, unlicensed coaches always carry more passengers than the coach’s capacity. Some coaches also force passengers to move to another coach or leave them in the middle of nowhere. In extreme cases, passengers have been attacked and robbed by coach staff.

Lieutenant-colonel Tran Nhu Sy from the Binh Trieu traffic police team in HCM City said that one coach driver forced passengers to jump out of the windows whenever they saw traffic police.

It is said that unlicensed coaches have developed as a result of passenger habit. Rural workers, in particular, don’t like coach stations but will happily get into any coach on the roadside.

HCM City traffic police launched a campaign on unlicensed coaches on January 25 and it will last until February 28.

In Hanoi, 500 students of the Hanoi People’s Police School will be mobilized to assist traffic police before and after the lunar New Year. Hanoi currently has around 1,000 traffic police officers.

Thai Phuong