How to pay for buses in Hanoi — city buses and intercity buses to Ha Long, Ninh Binh, Sapa?

In late July 2026 a participant explained that most Hanoi buses accept cash: you pay the conductor or driver right on board. Bring small bills — for example 10,000 or 20,000 VND — so you can pay the exact fare, since the conductor cannot always break a large note.

Not all routes work the same way. According to the same July 2026 explanation, the airport express bus No. 86 accepts cash only, paid to the conductor, so have the fare ready before you leave the airport.

On some routes you can pay with a transport card, including a virtual one in the Hanoi Transport Ticket Card app (The ve giao thong HN). As advised in July 2026, check the payment method for your specific route before the trip.

From July 2026 to June 2027, bus rides within Ring Road No. 1 are free. If you board inside the ring and get off outside it, you pay for the extra distance: when paying cash, the conductor prints a ticket and charges for the actual distance traveled.

About the new payment terminals on buses, a traveler wrote in July 2026 that they work through an e-ticket app and that, as far as he understood, registering in it requires a local ID. For a foreign visitor, cash is the more reliable option.