Hanoi (VNS/VNA) –Hanoi’s Transport Department is considering allowing coach stations in the cityto open at night to ease overcrowding.

Vice director of the departmentVu Ha told Tien Phong (Vanguard) newspaper that the extended hours would givepassengers more options and further make use of the stations’ facilities.

Now, coach passengers arriveand leave Hanoi at six stations. Nuoc Ngam station opens from 5am to midnight,Giap Bat Station opens from 5am to 8pm, My Dinh Station opens from 5am to11.45pm, Gia Lam Station opens from 6am to 11pm, Yen Nghia Station opens from6am to 9.45pm, and Son Tay Station opens from 6am to 7pm. The stations arestill willing to receive coaches that arrive later.

There are 980 vehicles leavingthe stations from 7pm to 6am of the following day.

“Night coach trips are normalin Hanoi’s passenger transportation,” Ha said, adding that extended hours couldhelp people travel and reduce overcrowding during rush hours.

The department was alsoconsidering allowing vehicles on short trips to leave stations after midnight,Ha said.

However, some have raisedobjections to the proposal.

Bui Danh Lien, Vice Chairman ofthe Hanoi Transport Association, said that passengers travelling shortdistances usually chose coaches which left stations early in the morning orlate in the afternoon.

Coaches usually entered andleft stations during these hours, causing traffic congestion.

“However, now passenger numbershave dropped sharply, and some stations are operating at 60 percent capacity,”Lien said, blaming traffic congestion on coaches that intentionally movedslowly or delayed leaving the stations in the hope of getting more passengers.

Lien said that three years ago,Hanoi authorities worked hard to monitor and develop reasonable schemes forinter-province coaches coming and leaving the city.

“If the Transport Departmentnow allows the extended hours, increased night coaches could mean changes fortransport firms,” he said.

Extended hours would requireextra services and staff to ensure a hygiene and security, he said.

Le Dinh Dung, Director of Ha Son-HaiVan Coach Company, said that coaches running long-distances or to touristdestinations preferred to leave stations after midnight. However, manypassengers were wary of travelling at night due to safety concerns.

Nguyen Anh Bao, Director of DaiPhat Joint Stock Company, said the company’s coaches on the Hanoi- Da NangRoute had to leave Giap Bat Station every 30 minutes.

“We have few passengers, so wewant our coaches to stay at the station for longer than 30 minutes,” he said.

“Coaches on long-distance tripsleaving the station in the daytime or at night need at least one hour to stopat the station and collect passengers,” he said.

A representative from atransport firm in Hanoi told Vietnam News Agency that inter-province coachoperators were struggling with falling passenger numbers.

“It’s a fact that stations areshort of passengers, not short of coaches,” he said, adding that offering moretrips at night while the passenger numbers remained low, could push coach operatorsto bankruptcy./.