VietNamNet Bridge - Transport firms say that a tentative requirement on tour-bus drivers’ English skills will be “more difficult to fulfill than going to the sky”. 

The draft circular on transport services in the tourism sector being drafted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports & Tourism (MCST) and Ministry of Transport (MOT) says that tour bus drivers have to be able to communicate in English. Also, transport firms can only provide services with buses which have been in use for no more than 15 years.

A teacher of English at a high school in Hanoi said he was surprised about the draft. 

Drivers have to understand what foreign travelers say and provide travelers with necessary information about locations, weather, exchange rate, post offices, healthcare centers and entertainment sites. They also have to provide the addresses of diplomatic representative agencies and international agencies when necessary.

The teacher noted that in order to satisfy the requirements, tour bus drivers need to be very good at English. “You may think they (bus drivers) just need to learn by heart some English words and sentences. But this is not true,” he said.

“The requirement is really too difficult for drivers and it is unnecessary,” he said.

Nguyen Thi Hoa Le, CEO of Hoa Binh Tourism, a firm which has a large fleet in HCM City, said the high requirements are too difficult for the majority of businesses.

“There are always tour guides present on buses carrying tourists. I don’t think drivers also need to speak English fluently,” she said.

Hoa said it was unreasonable to stipulate that a passenger bus can work no more than 15 years.

“It will be unreasonable and wasteful to allow buses to run for 15 years only,” she said.

“If buses can have regular maintenance, they can be used for 20 years or longer,” she said, adding that in other countries, the time limit is 25 years.

MCST and MOT have shown their strong determination to put transport means under strict control by requesting transport firms to inform the local transport departments about departure and destination points, the itineraries and implementation plans before implementing transport service contracts.

The requirement, as anticipated, has not been applauded by travel and transport firms, because it will take a lot of time to fulfill.

“It is unreasonable to force us to make a report every time when we implement contracts. What is this for?” the director of a travel firm said.

“The spirit of the Enterprise Law is that the State creates the most favorable conditions for enterprises to do business. And the spirit must be shown in legal documents,” he noted.

TBKTSG