Shocked by train and bus ticket prices during Tet, male student plans to ride motorbike nearly 1,400km home

(Dan Tri) - Stunned after seeing the prices of plane and train tickets for Tet 2025, Hoang plans to ride a motorbike from Ho Chi Minh City to Ha Tinh this year to save money.

One-way ticket costs a month's worth of expenses

In recent days, Nguyen Manh Hoang, a second-year student at a university in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, has been constantly updating train and bus ticket prices during Tet.

School was closed late, and he had final exams, so Hoang's schedule to go home fell during the peak time near Tet.

A girl drives from Hanoi to her hometown in Nghe An for Tet 2024 (Photo: NVCC).

According to Hoang, the airfare from Ho Chi Minh City to Vinh on January 23-24 is from 4 to 5 million VND, and it is always at night, so it is quite inconvenient when there are no buses, so you have to spend money on a taxi to go home.

So, Hoang turned to look for train tickets and was even more panicked when there were no more tickets on peak days. Back to Tet, the male student was bewildered when he saw that there were only a few tickets left for 4-person sleeper cabins, priced at more than 6 million VND.

The ticket price is equal to a month's living expenses for a student studying far from home, and Hoang does not have enough money to cover it. He is considering taking a motorbike home to celebrate Tet. The reason is that Hoang suffers from severe motion sickness and cannot bear the journey on a bus for more than a day.

Looking for train tickets from Ho Chi Minh City to Vinh on January 22, Hoang only found some sleeper tickets priced at more than 6 million VND (Photo: MH).

Prioritizing safety, Hoang plans to go slowly, the expected travel time from Ho Chi Minh City to Ha Tinh will last 2 days.

Gasoline costs for a distance of nearly 1,400km are around 600,000-700,000 VND, plus rest and food costs of about 600,000 VND.

Hoang went to fellow countrymen forums to ask about his intention to ride a motorbike back to his hometown and learned that many people, both students and working people, also had this plan.

Riding a motorbike to go home during Tet is a form of transportation chosen by many young people. Some people use this occasion to go backpacking, some people go to challenge a new experience, but many cases like Hoang, take the risk because they don't mind spending money on train tickets to go home.

Young people in the group "Riding motorbikes to Dak Lak " on their journey home for Tet 2024 by motorbike (Photo: "Riding motorbikes to Dak Lak").

Not only individuals but also many motorbike riding groups were established to connect and support this journey home.

The most exciting activity is the group "Riding a motorbike to Dak Lak" which was established more than 10 years ago to support motorbike riders returning to their hometowns, minimizing unfortunate incidents. In this group, there are volunteers who accompany the group throughout the journey, some of whom work as motorbike mechanics, in the medical field... to support members along the way.

Warning about risks when riding motorbikes home during Tet

Riding a motorbike long distances is inherently dangerous on normal days, but it is even more dangerous during Tet when traffic density increases. In previous years, there have been heartbreaking accidents involving motorbike riders returning home for Tet.

Before the Tet holidays, the Admissions and Student Affairs Department of Ho Chi Minh City University of Technical Education emphasized that it does not encourage students to travel by motorbike to their hometowns.

Along with that is the warning that riding a motorbike home is potentially dangerous and unsafe. Many problems can be encountered during the journey such as exhaustion, crowded traffic during Tet, congestion, erratic weather, carrying luggage, gifts, etc.

For students who still choose this form of transportation, the school recommends safety measures such as ensuring the vehicle is in good working order, paying attention to fuel, light luggage; appropriate clothing, preparing some vehicle repair tools...

When traveling, you should choose a reasonable departure time, divide the route into breaks, obey traffic laws, find a companion...

To avoid the pressure and transportation costs during Tet, many universities in Ho Chi Minh City schedule a 3-4 week Tet holiday. With this schedule, students can have Tet holiday early and return to school late.

Applying for students to have 28 days off for Tet from January 20 to February 16, 2025, Mr. Pham Thai Son, representative of Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry and Trade, said that this holiday schedule is to help students, lecturers, and school staff proactively avoid peak days before Tet with expensive travel costs and traffic overload, especially for those who are far from home.

In addition, some schools in Ho Chi Minh City also organize online classes the week before and after Tet to avoid students having to travel during peak times.

Students and workers return home on the 2024 spring bus organized by the Ho Chi Minh City Student Support Center (Photo: Xuan Truong).

Ms. Nguyen Thi Diem, Ho Chi Minh City Student Support Center (SAC) informed that this year, the center coordinated with units to organize "Spring Bus Trip - Happy Tet 2025" to support 2,000 students, students, and workers to return home for Tet.

The subjects are students in difficult circumstances, affected by natural disasters and epidemics, studying and working in Ho Chi Minh City, traveling to the provinces of Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri, Thua Thien Hue, Da Nang, Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, Binh Dinh, Phu Yen, Khanh Hoa, Ninh Thuan, Binh Thuan.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/giao-duc/choang-voi-gia-ve-tau-xe-tet-nam-sinh-tinh-chay-xe-may-gan-1400km-ve-que-20241128112242196.htm