For anyone who regularly uses the "limousine" or "shuttle van" contract buses in Vietnam, pickup points and booking practices may change starting August 10. Decree 218/2026 (Nghị định 218/2026/NĐ-CP), which took effect that day, explicitly bans contract buses (xe hợp đồng) from picking up or dropping off passengers at head offices, branch offices, representative offices, or on the street. Operators that violate this can have their transport business license revoked outright. The rule hits routes like Hanoi-Sapa or Ho Chi Minh City-Da Lat, which have effectively run "almost like scheduled buses" departing from travel agency offices — a direct concern for how residents and business travelers choose their transport.
Decree 218/2026 bans "pickup/drop-off at offices and on the street"
This decree amends Decree 158/2024 on road passenger transport. The focus is on where contract buses pick up and drop off passengers. Operators of vehicles with 8 or more seats (excluding the driver's), or vehicles modified from more than 8 seats down to under 8, can no longer pick up or drop off passengers at their own head office, branch office, or representative office, or at a fixed location they lease or partner with. Pickup and drop-off on the street is likewise banned. The Vietnamese text of the decree explicitly states that pickup and drop-off at a "trụ sở chính, trụ sở chi nhánh, văn phòng đại diện" (head office, branch office, representative office) is not permitted.
It's not only about location. The decree also bans confirming individual passengers' seat bookings, selling tickets, collecting fares directly from each passenger, and running a fixed route or timetable aimed at multiple passengers or multiple clients. In short, the rule shuts down the practice of "carrying an unspecified number of passengers, like a scheduled bus, at set places and times." A genuine charter — one contract hiring out one whole vehicle — remains allowed as before.
The penalty isn't a fine — it's "revocation of the transport business license"
This is where misunderstanding is easy. What the initial reporting describes isn't a monetary fine or violation points, but the heavy administrative penalty of revoking the transport business license (giấy phép kinh doanh vận tải). A contract bus operator that violates the pickup/drop-off rules has its license revoked. It must cease operations within 10 days of the revocation decision being signed, and the license won't be reissued for 30 days from that signing. Even after 30 days, the operator has to reapply for both the license and the vehicle permit from scratch.
Because no fine amount has been made public, this article doesn't include figures for fines or violation points. The confirmed facts are these three: "license revocation," "business suspension within 10 days," and "no reissue for 30 days."
| Item | Details (confirmed against the primary source) |
|---|---|
| Effective date | August 10, 2026 |
| Basis | Decree 218/2026 (amending Decree 158/2024) |
| Target | Contract bus operators with 8+ seats, or vehicles modified down from more than 8 seats |
| Banned | Pickup/drop-off at head offices, branches, offices, or on the street; ticket sales, individual fare collection, fixed-timetable operation |
| Penalty | Revocation of the transport business license (no fine amount stated) |
| Suspension / reissue | Business suspension within 10 days of the revocation decision being signed; no reissue for 30 days |
| Data sharing | From January 1, 2028, contract data must be submitted to the Ministry of Public Security before each trip |
The aim: contract buses disguised ("trá hình") as scheduled routes
Behind this amendment lies the problem of "xe hợp đồng trá hình" (disguised contract buses) — buses that run effectively as scheduled routes under the pretense of a contract. Travel companies have used their offices as pickup points while actually gathering an unspecified number of passengers at the same fixed time every day, sidestepping the regulations that apply to scheduled buses and taxis, the reporting points out. Because many intercity limousines have spread through this model, it had created unfair competition against properly regulated scheduled buses that run through bus terminals, even as it offered convenience.
The decree also advances digital oversight of transport further. From January 1, 2028, contract bus operators will be required to submit trip data to the Ministry of Public Security before each trip. Today's pickup/drop-off restriction marks the entry point of that stronger oversight.
Impact on residents and business travelers — where pickup points move from offices
What's most likely to change in practice is "where you board." Intercity limousines that used to gather in front of offices are likely to shift either to proper bus terminal (bến xe) departures, or to genuine door-to-door service (a charter that picks you up at your hotel or home). On booking sites, both office-pickup and hotel-transfer types have coexisted under the same "limousine" label, so from August onward it's safer to choose operators that clearly state the latter.
The impact on short-term travelers is limited. Chartered airport transfers from hotels and chartered tours are single-contract charters, so they don't fall under today's ban. It's residents and long-term expats who relied on office-pickup shared limousines as their everyday transport, and business travelers who used to move cheaply between cities, who are more likely to feel the effect. If pickup and drop-off shift from offices to terminals, travelers will need to cover the first and last few kilometers themselves, luggage in hand.
For getting around Vietnam, taxis and ride-hailing apps, where the fare is fixed in advance, remain reliable. The basics of how to use them and safety checks are covered inour guide to using taxis in Vietnamese citiesandand our complete guide to using ride-hailing appsCombining these two covers the last few kilometers to the terminal.
What to check when booking and on the day (with yen conversions)
For now, keeping these three points in mind when booking helps avoid confusion. First, confirm before booking whether the pickup point is "in front of the office" or "at your hotel/home." Second, judge by luggage amount and time whether switching to a proper bus-terminal departure works for you. Third, use a fixed-price transfer service for airport trips, to avoid the risk of a pickup-point change on the day.
Here's a rough sense of cost, based on our site's real-world price data. Figures below are converted at roughly 10,000 dong ≈ 60 yen (an approximate rate as of August 2026).
| Route / purpose | Approximate dong price | Yen Equivalent (10,000 dong ≈ 60 yen) |
|---|---|---|
| Noi Bai Airport to Hanoi Old Quarter (about 30km, fixed-price transfer) | 400,000-500,000 dong | About 2,400-3,000 yen |
| About 5km within the city, by ride-hailing app | 50,000-60,000 dong | About 300-360 yen |
A fixed-price airport transfer can look pricier than peak-time app fares, but with pickup points now fixed, it's worth it to avoid trouble on the day. The overall price level can be checkedVietnam Price Guidehere. For long-distance intercity travel, this is a good moment to consciously choose between a proper terminal-departure scheduled service or a hotel-transfer charter to match your purpose, rather than defaulting out of habit to an office-pickup shared ride.
Sources
- Nhân Dân「Từ ngày mai (10/8), rút giấy phép xe hợp đồng khi đón trả khách sai chỗ」（2026-08-09）
- Thanh Niên「Từ 10.8, xe hợp đồng đón trả khách sai chỗ sẽ bị rút giấy phép」
- Báo Đầu tư「Siết chặt quản lý xe hợp đồng, cấm đón, trả khách tại các điểm cố định của doanh nghiệp」
- An ninh Thủ đô「Từ ngày 10/8, xe hợp đồng đón trả khách sai chỗ sẽ bị rút giấy phép」
- VTV「Từ 10/8, xe hợp đồng đón trả khách sai chỗ sẽ bị rút giấy phép」
