Ho Chi Minh City has 126 bus routes with nearly 2,100 operational buses. The Traffic Infrastructure Department also pays a lot of attention to public transport, but the number of travelers using this mode of transport has decreased over the years.
According to statistics from the Department of Transport of Ho Chi Minh City (Transportation), the number of bus passengers has decreased year after year from 2014 to now. In the period 2014-2018, the number of bus passengers decreased by an average of 6.65% per year.
By 2019, the number of passengers using the bus will reach about 255 million, a decrease of 12.1% from 289.9 million passengers compared to 2018. In 2020, the number of passengers will be just over 148 million. In 2021, the decline will be even stronger, with 53 million more arrivals. The situation in the first 5 months of this year is also not very rosy.
Speaking to KTSG Online, some people said they are very supportive of the use of public transportation, but this type of transportation still has many limitations, such as a long wait, not meeting the reasonable price criteria, clean…
According to Mr Nguyen Huu Thong, in District 8, Ho Chi Minh City, taking a bus takes much longer than using a motorcycle. Specifically, the distance from home to work is only about 12 km, but taking the bus takes more than 1 hour and 30 minutes while riding a motorbike takes just over 30 minutes.
Likewise, Ms. Vo Thi Kim Thoa, District 12, Ho Chi Minh City, said that because the bus is “surrounded on all sides” by motorbikes and cars, it can’t drive fast and on time, so many people don’t want to go.
Selling tickets is also not convenient, sometimes with short distances, but due to the opposite route, passengers have to buy tickets twice. In addition, the fact that many buses have rusty tires and black smoke on the road also means that many passengers do not want to go.
“For me, the bus does not yet meet the three criteria of cheap-clean-beautiful,” says Ms Thoa, and suggests that students give more discounts to students, so that they can use the bus more.
Currently bus fares are from 5,000 – 7,000 VND/ticket/one way, bus passes are from 112,500 -157,000 VND/30 tickets and 3,000 VND/ticket/one way for students.
The Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management has made many plans, such as building more stops, own parking areas and even asking civil servants to use this mode of transport. So far, however, many plans have not been realized.
In particular, in March, the agency proposed to build bus stops, bus terminals, private parking and pedestrian paths at 11 stations of Metro Line 1 in Binh Thanh district and Thu Duc city.
A month later, the Ministry of Transport continued to plan for the construction of a BRT bus route along Vo Van Kiet – Mai Chi Tho Boulevard, 23 km long, with 28 stops, expected to be completed in the first quarter and completed in the second quarter. will be put into use. quarter 2024.
The ministry also has written a request to officials, officials and workers in Ho Chi Minh City to take the bus. This is a program in the project “Strengthening public passenger transport combined with control of personal motor vehicles participating in traffic in Ho Chi Minh City”.
In the project, Ho Chi Minh City aims that public transport will meet 15% of people’s travel needs by 2025, and 25% by 2030.
@ Saigon Times
