The first electric bus route in HCMC was inaugurated on March 8, linking Vinhomes Grand Park, a residential area in Thu Duc City, with the Saigon Bus Station in the central business district.
Twelve battery-powered buses will operate 94 daily trips on the 29-kilometer D4 route. Designed to carry 67 commuters at a time, these buses will run every 20 minutes between 5 a.m. and 9:15 p.m, the Saigon Times reported.
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According to the report, services fare is VND3,000 per trip for students and VND7,000 per trip for others. The elderly, disabled, and children under 1.4 meters tall are exempt from the fare.
The buses are user-friendly as they are all equipped with cameras, Wi-Fi and USB chargers.
The buses have an automatic function for supervising drivers and alerting against their unsafe behaviors, said the representative of Vinbus Ecology Transport Services Company.
The D4 route is the first one among the five electric bus routes to be piloted in HCMC. The four remaining routes will connect the Vinhomes Grand Park with the Emart shopping mall, the Tan Son Nhat International Airport, the new Mien Dong Bus Station, and the urban area of the Vietnam National University. The four are scheduled to open in the third and fourth quarters this year.
According to Le Hoa Binh, the municipal government’s vice chairman, besides creating favorable conditions in commuting, electric buses with modern technology and e-tickets are expected to encourage local residents to use public transport.
In late 2021, Vietnam’s capital city of Hanoi also launched three electric bus routes, according to the Saigon Times.