Ho Chi Minh City announces traffic hotline, boosts transport services for Reunification Day holiday

The national holiday lasts five days from April 30 to May 4, in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the liberation of southern Vietnam and Reunification Day (April 30) and International Workers’ Day (May 1).

According to the municipal Department of Transport and Public Works, the hotline number is 0388.247.247, managed by the city’s Urban Traffic Management Center.

Residents can also report traffic incidents via the city’s 1022 switchboard or the traffic information portal.

With travel expected to rise significantly, the city has asked the Urban Traffic Management Center to closely monitor traffic lights and swiftly adjust signals to avoid congestion caused by poor cycle timing.

Authorities are also intensifying real-time surveillance via citywide camera systems to rapidly address accidents, infrastructure breakdowns, or bottlenecks.

Traffic flow updates and detour guidance will be posted on electronic signage and the official traffic information portal, helping residents navigate busy routes more efficiently.

Do Ngoc Hai, a transport official from the Department of Transport and Public Works, emphasized the need for close coordination among traffic police and relevant units to manage traffic flow, particularly around congestion hotspots such as Tan Son Nhat International Airport, interprovincial bus terminals, and main city gateways like An Phu, My Thuy, Cat Lai, and National Highway 50.

Alternative routes and detour plans are also in place around such high-risk congestion areas.

Detailed guidance will be provided for optimal travel to and from northern, central, and southwestern Vietnamese provinces to ease traffic flow, Hai added.

Aside from these measures, the transport authority will deploy additional vehicles and increase the frequency of public transport services to satisfy surging travel demand.

At major interprovincial bus terminals where a nine-percent year-on-year increase in passengers is anticipated, 600 extra buses will be deployed to help transport around 110,900 passengers per day.

The department has worked with seven major taxi firms to arrange over 5,400 taxis at Tan Son Nhat Airport, which is expected to serve approximately 120,000 passengers per day, up 10 percent from last year.

Moreover, bus routes 152, 103, 109, and 721 to the airport will run more frequently.

The city will increase the frequency of metro trips from 200 to 240 per day, aiming to serve up to 120,000 passengers each day.

Meanwhile, the Saigon Railway Station anticipated over 2,000 passengers per day, with more bus trips on route No. 7 increased for improved connections.