Grab encourages people to use pedestrian overpasses

Grab and the Youth Union's strategy to encourage people to use overpasses is part of the "2018 Programme for Traffic Safety Action for Children," which is also an activity aimed at beautifying the urban traffic system in the whole city.

Ho Chi Minh City's overpasses are largely unused

"At Grab, besides providing convenient services at reasonable cost to users, ensuring the safety of passengers and drivers is always the top important factor that we care of. We have been continuing to accompany local authorities and different organisations in the upcoming programmes and projects to bring safe trips to people,” said Nguyen Trung Thanh, director of GrabBike.

“Grab is proud to co-organise this year's traffic safety action programme for children with the Ho Chi Minh City Youth Union’s Department of Transport,” he said.

According to the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Transport, the city now has 20 pedestrian overpasses in its inner districts and outskirt. These overpasses, however, have been left unused due to the low awareness among people.

Despite common traffic accidents, most people do not use overpasses

The reason for this is that overpasses take longer. However people need to understand that these overpasses are there to help for their safety.

As they are infrequently used, many of overpasses are left dirty and some of them are now home to drug-addicts, which is another reason for people to avoid them.

Several overpasses were taken over by drug-addicts looking for shelter

According to statistics from the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Transport, in 2017 the city built six more pedestrian overpasses for VND4-11 billion ($177,000-486,725) each, to serve people in the most crowded areas, such as near hospitals and traffic junctions.

Meanwhile, according to the statistics of the Traffic Safety Committee of Ho Chi Minh City, every year 100 people die when crossing roads.

At the over pass in No Trang Long Street, in front of the Oncology Hospital in Binh Thanh district, vendors, motorbike taxies, and car drivers are waiting for customers right at the end of the bridge and take up all space, blocking doctors, patients, and others from using the overpass.

The overpass of Tu Du Hospital in District 1 is equipped with a roof and a strong glass wall, but very few users have been seen despite the density of traffic and the great pedestrian flows between the two parts.

To cut time, people and even the doctors of the hospital simply run across the road. Additionally, the overpass is also in bad hygienic conditions, scaring pedestrians away.

According to Doan The Cong—vice secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Youth Union’s Department of Transport—the union holds training courses for people to increase awareness of using overpasses.

In the framework of this programme, pedestrian bridges will be beautified with simple and unique images from Vietnam to encourage people to use them and inspire the love of the country.

Lasting till the end of 2018, the programme will decorate and improve seven pedestrian overpasses in various locations across the city. It is expected that by the end of this October, three pedestrian bridges will be fully completed.

The programme is as a continuation of the project "Vietnam After the Wheel" organised by Grab and has been implemented with great success and was awarded the prize of “Construction to Beautify the City 2017” by the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Transport.