Ho Chi Minh City Department of Transport is planning to pilot an electronic payment system on 15 out of 23 bus routes, totaling 284 buses, within the next three months.
During the announcement ceremony for the expansion of the EMV Open-Loop payment system on the bus network in Ho Chi Minh City on the evening of June 5th, Mr. Phan Cong Bang, Deputy Director of the Department of Transport, stated that the implementation of electronic bus tickets will be carried out simultaneously in 2025.
Currently, Ho Chi Minh City has 129 bus routes, with 91 subsidized routes and 38 non-subsidized routes, totaling 2,019 operating buses. On average, the city operates 13,000 bus trips per day, transporting an average of 300,000 passengers.
Initially, Ho Chi Minh City will pilot the EMV Open-Loop payment system on 15 out of 23 bus routes, including routes 59, 69, 72, 28, 30, and others, totaling 284 buses. The system is implemented in cooperation with Vietbank, Vidiva, and Mastercard. The pilot program does not use state funds.
This model allows passengers to use bank cards or e-wallets to pay for bus tickets without the need for cash or issuing separate cards or tickets specifically for the bus system, as before. This method has been applied in countries such as the UK, Singapore, Australia, and the United States.
Groups entitled to discounted fares, such as students, only need to register once with the Ho Chi Minh City Public Transport Management Center’s application. After that, they will receive direct ticket discounts for each trip.
According to Ms. Winnie Wong, the Country Manager of Mastercard in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos, Vietnamese consumers are very receptive and enthusiastic about adopting new payment technologies compared to the region.
Specifically, surveys conducted by this company have shown that 94% of Vietnamese people have used at least one digital payment method, surpassing the regional average for Asia-Pacific of 88%.
At the same time, 60% have used e-wallets on their phones and smart devices, and 77% plan to use them more frequently this year.
@Zing News