All kinds of services and spontaneous sales 'overcharge', people watching the parade reluctantly pay

Many services and goods spontaneously doubled or tripled, making people dizzy, but they still have to pay.

A group of people cleaned up "rented" chairs after the parade at the lakeside - Photo: N.AN

With the free ticket policy and increased operating time, the Cat Linh - Ha Dong railway line is chosen by many people to go to Ba Dinh center to watch the parade. Therefore, many spontaneous parking spots have sprung up along this route with the price of 30,000 - 50,000 VND/vehicle/day.

Chair rental service costs millions, motorbike taxi charges double the price

Around the Hoan Kiem Lake area is the parade route of the Vietnamese and foreign military forces, many spontaneous parking spots have sprung up like mushrooms. Vehicles spill out onto the sidewalks or into residential areas, with prices reaching 50,000 - 70,000 VND all day.

"Today's rehearsal is 70,000 VND/seat, and for the main ceremony on September 2nd it is expected to be 100,000 VND/seat. But if you want to book a large number of seats, you have to deposit in advance because there is a lot of demand for seats but the number is limited" - said a person renting the seats.

Ms. Mai (Hoang Mai) and her family rode their motorbikes into the city center at 3am. It was not difficult to find a parking spot near the lakeside, with parking lots offering parking. Bringing 5 motorbikes to a parking spot on Hang Bai Street, her family was "shocked" when they were quoted a price of up to 350,000 VND. Thinking about the increasing number of people coming to the center and having to jostle for a seat, she agreed to pay so as not to have to walk far.

Meanwhile, Mr. Manh's family from Phu Tho came to Hanoi at night and had to "rent chairs" with seats. With nearly 20 members, each chair was "rented" for 70,000 VND, his family had to spend nearly 1.4 million VND, but still had to accept it because they had a good location and convenient seats to watch the parade without having to wait and line up from the previous afternoon.

"It only happens once every 80 years, and we want our children to experience the atmosphere of the parade on National Day. Therefore, I agree to spend this amount to ease the burden on the children and make it convenient for the family to travel during these meaningful holidays," said Mr. Manh.

Many technology motorbike taxi drivers charge double or triple the price.

Motorbike taxi services flourished along the parade routes, where many people watched. Almost all motorbike taxi apps were in a "waiting for a car" state as many drivers "turned off the app" and switched to picking up passengers directly, earning double or triple the usual fare.

Ms. Thanh Huong (Ha Dong) spent hours trying to order a taxi to Cat Linh station. She had to call a motorbike taxi, but some people charged 70,000 VND, others asked for 100,000 VND. While every day on the same route, she only spent about 30,000 VND. Having traveled with her son since 3am, she was exhausted by noon, so she had to "bite the bullet" and pay to take her son home.

Street vendors and restaurants also compete to increase prices.

Along the streets, many stalls selling souvenirs, clothes, national flags, tickers, balloons and other National Day items are also in full bloom. Most of the products are priced one and a half to two times higher than usual.

Ms. Lan (Hoai Duc, Hanoi) said she took advantage of the National Day to sell goods to make a little profit. Large conical hats cost 80,000 - 120,000 VND/piece; small conical hats cost 50,000 - 70,000 VND/piece; scarves with the Vietnamese flag cross cost 60,000 - 80,000 VND/piece; ribbons cost 20,000 VND/piece; red flag shirts with yellow stars cost 150,000 - 170,000 VND/piece.

"We also know that high prices make it difficult to sell, but the input costs are so high that we have no choice," she said.

Spontaneous parking lots spill onto the sidewalks

At restaurants, it is noted that all places are full of customers, especially fast food restaurants along the road. Many restaurants have posted stable prices, but some restaurants have increased their prices slightly, such as pho restaurants with prices usually around 40,000 - 45,000 VND/bowl, now increased to 55,000 - 60,000 VND/bowl.

Mr. Duc (Long Bien) said that people's demand increases sharply during holidays, so it is inevitable that prices will increase. However, the price increase must be reasonable and avoid profiteering, such as "reserving space" for rent or charging double or triple the price on normal days, which will reduce the meaning of the holidays.

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NGOC AN

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/muon-kieu-dich-vu-ban-hang-tu-phat-het-gia-nguoi-dan-xem-dieu-binh-bam-bung-chi-tien-20250830133821566.htm