Ho Chi Minh City set to undertake major bus reform

As the number of bus users in the southern city has declined over the years since 2013, authorities have planned a series of projects to improve the quality of the transport service.

‘Greener’ buses

Ho Chi Minh City officials began researching the use of compressed natural gas (CNG), an available alternative to gasoline, as fuel for buses in 2009, Le Hoang Minh, deputy director of the Department of Transport, said at a conference on CNG application on April 6.

In 2011, Saigonbus Company put 21 CNG-fuelled buses imported from South Korea into operation.

Results of a one-year pilot project showed that such vehicles produced a considerably low amount of exhaustion while saving 23 percent in fuel cost compared to those that run on diesel, opening a new phase for the city’s public transport.

A total of 137 out of 2,683 buses in the metropolis are using the environment-friendly fuel at present.

If all buses run on CNG as the primary fuel, the volume of pollutants released by these vehicles into the atmosphere will be reduced by about 5,109 metric tons, according to the Center for Scientific Research and Technology Development of Transport under the Ho Chi Minh City University of Transport.

To replace old buses with the CNG-powered vehicles, city authorities have approved a proposal to manufacture 300 eco-friendly buses for the 2014-17 period.

The ‘May 19’ Bus Transport Cooperative in early March spent VND63 billion (US$2.82 million) buying 23 of such vehicles, which have shuttled between An Suong Station in Hoc Mon District and the Vietnam National University-Ho Chi Minh City in Thu Duc District.

According to Deputy Director Minh, the Department of Transport will cooperate with other competent agencies to come up with optimal measures to boost investment and expedite the mass use of CNG in public transportation.

Smart bus tickets

A new system of smart bus tickets is expected to be utilized in the public transport network in the southern city at the end of this year, said Dau An Phuc, director of the Public Transport Management and Operation Center, managed by the Department of Transport.

As part of the project, authorities are still working on appropriate policies to provide users of the service with favorable conditions, such as fare reduction, according to Phuc.

The application of the new form of ticket is also anticipated to help improve the service quality of bus operators as passengers will pay in advance, providing the operators with necessary financial capacity to enhance their performance, Lam Thieu Quan, member of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Council, stated.

Passengers get off an eco-friendly bus that uses compressed natural gas as fuel in Ho Chi Minh City.
Photo: Tuoi Tre

Busway to open in 2018

The municipal People’s Committee is planning on the construction of a bus rapid transit (BRT) system for the Vo Van Kiet-Mai Chi Tho route.

The plan, whose total investment capital is estimated at $137.5 million, will be executed in January 2017 and the BRT will come on stream in late 2018.

Vehicles used for the BRT system will be CNG-fuelled buses and deliver faster, safer, and more convenient services, according to Luong Minh Phuc, director of the Urban-Civil Works Construction Investment Management Authority of Ho Chi Minh City.

The People’s Committee will also discuss the building of five other similar BRT routes for passenger transport on several major roads in the city.

Ads on buses

Some 10 buses in Ho Chi Minh City were seen with advertisements on their sides on Tuesday, for the first time in 14 years, as part of a project carried out by Koa-Sha Vietnam, an out-of-home ad agency.

The company is scheduled to implement the pilot project to place advertisements on a total of 171 buses in the southern city within one year.

Results of the pilot project will be reviewed by the People’s Committee, after which a plan on mass advertising on buses will be carried out, while the idea to place ads inside the vehicles will also be realized, said director An Phuc.

According to an official at the Department of Transport, the city budget will receive an extra VND170 billion ($7.62 million) if all buses in the metropolis are wrapped with ads.