The bus driver of Saigon is under a lot of pressure and is sometimes called the "bus god". But few people can understand the hardships and sorrows that they face every day.
As usual, at 3am in the morning the phone rang and the alarm rang, Mr. Tuan woke up and gently got out of bed while the whole family and most of the residents of Saigon were engrossed in a good night's sleep. He boiled the water, poured the teapot in a hurry, and then pushed the old Dream car into the street with the cold, dark night fog.
From Tam Binh ward, he and I headed straight for Trans Asia (Thu Duc district) to Linh Trung Export Processing Zone to take the bus. After thoroughly examining the machinery and tires, he and I jumped quickly into his familiar car. While waiting for the guest, he opened the sticky rice package prepared by his wife, ate it quickly, and then took a quick sip of ice tea with him while the customer began to carve up the car. A working day of bus driver Nguyen Van Tuan begins.
Nearly 30 years on the bus, Mr. Nguyen Van Tuan, 52 years old, is considered one of the experienced drivers of Saigon Bus Company. He remembers printing street names, street names, even every alley of Saigon. So many years in the profession, his dream was simply to have a good night's sleep, a day without listening to people ... complaining and obedient, hard-working children.
Route 93 (Ben Thanh - Linh Trung Export Processing Zone) is one of the major passenger routes coming from the Mekong Delta. At 4:30 am, the bus leaves the station. The car has just arrived at the crossroads of Go Dua (Thu Duc district), a female student is waiting at the bus station.
After a short walk, the ticket inspector approached, and the student handed out the bus card. After a quick check, the ticket clerk said the card of the girl had expired. Immediately, the student harshly argued, saying that the bus staff insulted the passengers and insisted on not buying tickets. After a few moments of contraction, the other student finally bought the ticket. He checked the ticket shook his head depressed: The job "making hundreds of them is miserable! Crowded cars, cars were late, the passengers vomited ... the bus staff was full of inspiration ”.
According to our observations, after several trips along the bus, although on the bus routes in the city. In Ho Chi Minh City, the public transport enterprises had a clear sign of the responsibility of passengers when taking the bus, but there was also a large part of passengers who did not comply with the regulations. culturally, they still spit indiscriminately, swear, argue with the ticket inspectors and drivers.
After a moment of serious traffic jams at the Binh Trieu crossroads, Mr. Tuan's car finally reached the front of the East Bus Station. Mr. Tuan slowly let the car stop at the station for passengers to get up and down, ask the ticket inspector to buy a temporary loaf of dry bread like fried rice, chew quickly to fight against hunger and roll the wheelchair to Ben Thanh station as scheduled.
He shared: “Living this job is like fishing on a chopping board, late on trips to higher levels, being late for being cursed by customers, in a hurry, they are afraid of accidents. Moreover, in recent years, the city has carried out many drainage projects, "lots" have sprung up, traffic jams have always occurred, sometimes the pressure is heavy, I also consider quitting my job but the house has to seven mouths to eat, do not know what to drive. Besides, holding a familiar steering wheel, one day of resting, I feel nostalgic, very difficult to describe ... ”.
The car returns to Ben Thanh area to pay guests, the sun is hot, the noisy atmosphere at the bus station becomes more and more stuffy, after eating a bowl of noodle soup, Mr. Tuan hammocks to sleep for a while, sweat is parched on his shoulders. Besides, many other drivers were exhausted, lying on the seats. Every time the alarm bell for the schedule of the cars from the phones rang, they hurriedly rushed to their eyes, starting the engine to continue the arranged journey.
Mr. Tuan said: “For the past 30 years, I have run on average 10-12 times every day. The hourly pay for the bus driver is also increased, the whole month running without any illness is more than 5 million VND, raising seven mouths to feed, two older children who are studying at university, are also "smart and warm".
Rolling on a wheelchair, Mr. Tuan continued to control the vehicle wriggling amid busy traffic on the streets of districts 1, 3 and Binh Thanh, and Thu Duc. At 10pm that night, he came home, tired and hungry. The tray of rice on the table had cooled, but he still tried to swallow to energize the journey of the next days. “The job of holding this steering wheel is very silver, as a bus driver, everyone must prepare in the spirit of unintended incidents that will come to you at any time such as: losing jobs, accidents and risks. living on the streets ”. That is the conclusion of Mr. Tuan after a hard working day.
Just as strenuous as Mr. Tuan, Mr. Thanh, a driver of the Ben Thanh - An Suong route, confided: “It is hard to be satisfied with the job as everyone. People like air conditioning, people don't. He asked to open the smoking door, he asked to close it from the dust. Traffic jam, must take a roundabout so not the right route, customers call again, demanding to pay "motorbike" for them. That is not counting the peak time, traffic jams can not stop at the station, so they have to drop off passengers in the middle of the road, the camera and the competent forces record, the only country has to pay a fine of VND 500,000. Some customers quarreled with the driver and immediately turned to the company. Managing the call for control. If you go up, you lose a session to quit, fined 500,000 ... ".
Under all pressures from the passengers, the garage, the increasing cost of gasoline, the cost of the yard ..., Mr. Thanh was also afraid of traffic accidents. Thanh told the sad story of a colleague: “Last February, a young man was drunk and hit my colleague's car on Xuyen A street. And he had a traumatic brain injury. Except for insurance costs, my friend lost over 40 million dong to care for people, the car was detained by Binh Trieu Traffic Police for one month ... ”
The bus drivers in Saigon received many compliments but also many criticisms, joy and sorrow, but because of a piece of rice, a career, they still hang on to the steering wheel. serving the people safe and convenient buses.