{"id":4866,"date":"2026-08-25T18:11:51","date_gmt":"2026-08-25T09:11:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vietnam-gift.com\/?post_type=news&p=4866"},"modified":"2026-10-06T15:38:04","modified_gmt":"2026-10-06T06:38:04","slug":"hanoi-free-transit","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/vietnam-gift.com\/en\/news\/hanoi-free-transit\/","title":{"rendered":"Hanoi's buses and Metro Lines 2A and 3.1 run free system-wide over the September 2 holiday"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hanoi, Vietnam's capital, is making all city buses and both of its urban rail lines free for the entire route during the holiday around National Day on September 2. The free period runs for five days, from August 29 to September 2. There's no age cutoff like 60-and-over \u2014 every rider, including foreigners, rides for free. For business travelers arriving in Hanoi over the holiday, and residents running errands around the Old Quarter and Hoan Kiem Lake, these five days wipe out both the cost of getting around and the hassle of having cash or a card ready.<\/p>\n

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This is relevant to anyone whose stay in Hanoi overlaps with early September. Not only can you switch to free travel around the city, but service is also increased in anticipation of crowds.<\/p>\n

Free on all bus routes and Metro lines 2A and 3.1 \u2014 no ticket or tap needed<\/h2>\n

Covered are all of Hanoi's bus routes plus its two urban rail lines, 2A and 3.1. Line 2A is an elevated metro connecting Cat Linh and Ha Dong, and it was Vietnam's first urban rail line, opening in November 2021. Line 3.1 runs the elevated stretch between Nhon and Cau Giay, and began passenger service in August 2024. These are the two rail lines actually running in Hanoi, and during the holiday neither needs a farebox or a card tap \u2014 you can just walk on board.<\/p>\n

Both lines run east-west across the western side of the city, and transferring from Line 3.1 to a bus near Cau Giay lets you get almost to the center using only stretches with no ticket machines or gates at all. One line runs through the dense housing around Ha Dong, the other through the new-town area near Nhon, so commuting and holiday-travel crowds tend to overlap on both. Dropping fares to draw people onto the two metro lines is also meant to relieve road congestion.<\/p>\n

Normally, Hanoi's buses require paying the fare when boarding or having a free IC pass ready, and depending on the route,distance-based fares require a tap when getting off<\/a>. Someone who has just arrived anddoesn't have an application card for free bus travel<\/a>\u2014 a short-term visitor like that would normally get held up fumbling with a metro ticket machine or bus change. During these five holiday days, all of that hassle disappears.<\/p>\n

First run at 4:30 a.m., last train at 10 p.m. \u2014 what the increased service looks like<\/h2>\n

Operating hours run from 4:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. for buses, and 5:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. for the two metro lines. During the holiday, service is increased beyond normal levels in anticipation of people traveling home and festival crowds. The daily service counts published by the city are as follows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n
type<\/th>\nOperating hours<\/th>\nDaily trips \/ interval<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
Buses (all routes)<\/td>\n4:30\u301c22:30<\/td>\nAbout 17,335\u201317,645 trips \/ every 5\u201330 minutes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Metro 2A (Cat Linh\u2013Ha Dong)<\/td>\n5:30\u301c22:00<\/td>\n203 trips \/ about every 10 minutes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Metro 3.1 (Nhon\u2013Cau Giay)<\/td>\n5:30\u301c22:00<\/td>\n200 trips \/ about every 10 minutes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

Trip counts and operating hours are figures published by the city of Hanoi. The numbers vary slightly day to day: 17,335 trips on August 30, 17,645 on August 29 and 31, and 17,642 on September 1\u20132.<\/small><\/p>\n

Different from Ho Chi Minh City's \u201cfree for 60 and over\u201d \u2014 this time it's everyone, for a limited period<\/h2>\n

This round in Hanoi is a time-limited, everyone-rides-free program, with no narrowing by age or residence. It works differently from the ongoing free rides Ho Chi Minh City offers seniors \u2014 the defining features here are the five-day window and how wide open the \u201canyone\u201d eligibility is. Ho Chi Minh City has also had a period when it made all its routes free, and1.32 million people rode over five days, a 30% jump in ridership<\/a>was the result. The fact that dropping fares spikes demand was already visible in the south, and Hanoi's holiday service boost follows that same reasoning.<\/p>\n

Crowds also concentrate in Hanoi over the National Day holiday. Around Hoan Kiem Lake and Ba Dinh Square, pedestrian zones and events make it hard for cars and motorbikes to move, and finding street parking eats up time. Drawing riders onto the free metro and buses keeps private cars out of the crowded center. For travelers and business visitors, this means five straight days of getting close to the venue for free, without getting caught in traffic.<\/p>\n

Practical notes for getting around Hanoi for free during the holiday<\/h2>\n