People flock to bus stations as National Day holiday gets under way

At Gia Lam Bus Station, Nguyen Huu Anh, a student at Vietnam National University, Hanoi, who is from the northern city of Hai Phong, said he had bought his ticket well in advance.

"This year's holiday is longer, so the whole family has been looking forward to it. I decided to head home early to avoid the crowds later in the day," he said.

Although the station is busy, everyone is in good spirits because we are all excited to return home, he added.

Similarly, at Nuoc Ngam Bus Station, Tran Van Hung, a worker employed in Ha Noi, said he went straight to the station after finishing his shift to catch a bus home to the central province of Nghe An. He was carrying a small bag of gifts for his parents and children.

It is only on occasions like this that they have a long enough break to return home, he said.

"Work is busy, so sometimes all I can do is call home to ask how everyone is. Whenever there is a holiday, all I want is to get on the bus as quickly as possible and return to my family."

Passenger number surged

Passenger numbers surged on services to the central region, the northern mountainous provinces and several neighbouring localities.

Nguyen Hoang Tung, director of Giap Bat Bus Station, said the station normally handles around 650 departures a day.

During the National Day peak, however, as many as 800 buses were scheduled to depart on the afternoons of Friday and Saturday, with passenger numbers expected to rise by around 200 per cent compared with normal days.

Routes to Thanh Hoa, the former Nam Dinh and Thai Binh provinces, and Ninh Binh were among those experiencing particularly strong demand.

Pham Manh Hung, director of Ha Noi Transport Station Joint Stock Company, said the 2026 National Day holiday was relatively long and coincided with the end of the summer holiday season, meaning demand for travel to hometowns, tourism, sightseeing and interprovincial journeys was expected to rise sharply.

Passenger numbers were forecast to surge on Friday and Saturday for journeys departing Ha Noi, before increasing again on next Wednesday and Thursday among passengers returning to the capital.

The increase in demand varies between routes, with the strongest pressure expected on routes serving tourist destinations, family visits and short- to medium-distance journeys.

The surge in travel was also evident on roads leading to and from the capital.

From Friday evening, passenger coaches and private cars began leaving Ha Noi in a steady stream towards national highways and expressways, marking the start of the holiday exodus.

Traffic volumes remained high, causing congestion particularly on Ring Road No. 3, Thang Long, Nhat Tan and Vinh Tuy bridges, and on the southern gateway towards the Phap Van-Cau Gie Expressway.

Traffic police were forced to regulate traffic from a distance and allow vehicles to use the emergency lane on Ring Road No. 3 to improve traffic flow.

Proactive measures

In anticipation of increased travel demand during the National Day holiday, bus station operators and transport companies have drawn up plans well in advance to ensure smooth services for passengers.

Hung said has prepared a plan to deploy around 500 additional buses to ensure convenient and safe travel, ease congestion and prevent vehicle shortages.

Of these, 200 additional buses will be allocated to Giap Bat Bus Station, 100 to Gia Lam Bus Station and 200 to My Dinh Bus Station.

The additional buses will be deployed according to priority and actual demand. Their activation will be based on real-time passenger numbers and the capacity of individual routes, with priority given to clearing all passengers by the end of each day.

Hung said that every bus journey was backed by careful preparation across the entire transport system, involving vehicles, drivers, service staff, dispatchers, inspectors and traffic-management personnel.

"The common goal is to ensure passengers do not have to wait too long, that there are no vehicle shortages and, most importantly, that every passenger can return home or reach their destination safely," he said.

Tung, director of Giap Bat Bus Station, said the station had stepped up coordination with the authorities to maintain public order and traffic safety, while ensuring buses stopped and picked up and dropped off passengers in accordance with regulations.

From the perspective of passenger transport operators, a representative of Nam Thu Bus Company, which operates on the Ha Noi-Hai Duong route, said holidays were always a period of sharply increased demand.

The company had therefore proactively prepared reserve vehicles and was ready to increase the number of services when passenger numbers rose, while asking drivers and service staff to demonstrate a heightened sense of responsibility to ensure passengers enjoyed safe and convenient journeys.