Earlier this month, Saigon launched its environmental friendly bus route 33, part of the city's attempt to replace older buses with newer, more energy-efficient vehicles.
In conjunction with Saigon Cooperative Mechanical Corporation (SAMCO), the Department of Transport recently held a ceremony to hand over 23 eco-friendly buses to the city's May 19 Bus Transport Cooperative, reports Tuoi Tre. Fueled by compressed natural gas (CNG), these vehicles run on methane stored at an intense pressure, reducing harmful emissions from each vehicle.
Saigon's new CNG buses are part of a larger citywide plan involving SAMCO and the municipal People's Committee to purchase 300 CNG-fueled buses for the city at a cost of VND63 billion (US$2.8 million), SAMCO's general director Tran Quoc Toan told Tuoi Tre. All 52 buses on route 33's fleet will now be powered by CNG.
In February, the Department of Transport announced there would be two bus routes featuring only CNG-fueled buses, including the aforementioned bus route 33 as well as bus route 104 from An Suong to the University of Agriculture. Deputy director Le Hoang Minh of the Ho Chi Minh City Transport Department also confirmed there is a plan in the works to replace 1,318 of the city's old buses with 1,680 new vehicles.
[Photo via VOH]
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