When being questioned about the difficulties in inculcating politeness in public places, the manager of Giap Bat bus station Nguyen Tat Thanh said it requires the infinite patience either from bus drivers or passengers. Everyday passengers have harsh reactions, even insulting or threatening the bus station staff for very trivial reasons. “Passengers decline to buy tickets but still asked to go inside the station and pay directly to the driver. They refuse to listen to any explanation. They even get mad and act extremely rude at us. Other impoliteness includes smoking in forbidden areas, or spit randomly.” Thanh said.
Instructing passengers at My Dinh station.
|
The Director of Gia Lam station Nguyen Duc Vui says that the station has forbidden drivers from begging passengers to ride and even has strong punishments for such act. In addition, many drivers uttered unwanted words towards women or behave ill-manneredly with passengers. The reason is partly due to the low qualification of drivers and the transport enterprises failing to apply code of conducts to employees. “There are thousands of drivers at station everyday. However, our staff could not be everywhere to timely handle mismanners. If bad behaviors are not reporterd, we could not handle”, Vui said.
Giap Bat bus station manager Nguyen Tat Thanh said that the station hold two courses every year with the participation of lead psychologists to train its staff on good behavior. The station’s regulations also outlines a code of conduct and discipline measures to those who fail to comply. “We are striving every day to build a friendly and polite bus station”, Thanh said.
However, the efforts only stop at the station management unit. Many passengers and drivers have not acted politely in public places. The Deputy Director of My Dinh station Nguyen Manh Tuan said that the station alone could not inculcate good manners. The transport businesses should tighten discipline towards drivers and improve their work ethics. At the same time, passengers have to comply with regulations, be patient and keep calm so as for the bus station to be a friendly and polite place.
According to psychologist Nguyen Anh Minh, respect has to be mutual. Station staff want to be treated with manners and anyone would react unpolitely if being mistreated. Good manners shoud come from both sides, the station staff on the one side and the passengers and drivers on the other.
Haunting experience on bus station
The first time I came to the city by passenger bus, I stepped out of the bus and waited for my family to pick me up. There was one woman standing on the street. She seemed hesitant to cross to the other side. Some street vendors told her to raise her hands while crossing, as waiting for less traffic to cross would be forever. It took a long time before she finally made it to the other side of the street.
At the same time, suddenly one man approached me and handed over a small black box. He looked cautious and whispered “one hundred thousand dong”. So I understood he was selling a stolen camera. A street vendor nearby shouted at him as a warning to make him leave and then said to me: “Do not buy anything like that at the station. They are stolen, expensive and fake”.
Since I was a kid, I have been very afraid of coming to bus station to buy tickets because stations are so crowded and chaotic. Stations now are different than before, as passenger do not have to wait for hours before buying ticket. But the chaotic scene still remains the same.
There are also hustling and pestering passengers. I have witnessed a fight between two employees of different transport businesses over a passenger. In other time, one passenger bus suddenly stopped as three men requested the other bus to “hand over” 03 passengers that are supposed to “belong to” them. Bus stations are often overwhelmed with scenes of people sitting and lying everywhere, due to some buses arriving at midnight.
However, I still believe there are positive stories at these chaotic stations. As a frequent passengers, I have been to almost all stations in Hanoi. For many times I have had the opportunities to meet nice people from street vendors to taxi drivers. They are very supportive and show me the directions whenever I asks.
The transportation demand of citizens from other cities to Hanoi is very high. The majority of passengers and staffs at bus stations are nice and civilized. In order for Hanoi to achieve its goal of building a good manners environment, everybody must joint effort in eliminating negative thoughts on bus station, both in short term and in long term.
