The HCMC Traffic Works Management and Construction Board has just announced plans for six Bus Rapid Transit Systems (BRT) to meet growing demand. The first line, which will run from District 6 to District 2 should be up and running by 2018.
As part of Saigon’s bid to avoid a car-filled future, the BRT system, along with numerous metro lines, are meant to encourage public transit use.
The first of the six lines will cost nearly VND3.25 trillion (US$155 million) according to Luong Minh Phuc, director of the HCMC Traffic Works Management and Construction Board.
28.6 km long, the line will be built on Vo Van Kiet Avenue, providing service from the Western Bus Station in District 6 to the Cat Lai T-junction in District 2. It will have 4 terminals, 2 transit stations and 31 stops. Busses on the BRT will run on compressed natural gas (CNG).
The next 5 lines will service: Nguyen Van Linh – Phu My Bridge (24 km), Belt 2 (from An Suong to the Western Coach Station, 19km), Tan Sơn Nhat Airport – Binh Loi Bridge, 14.5 km), the Inner Belt (from Bon Xa Crossroads to Nguyen Van Linh Street, 8.7 km), and Quang Trung (8.5 km).
The Transport Department by the HCMC Public Passenger Transport Management cited increased ridership as the reason for the new BRT routes. In 2002, the city had 86 bus routes with 99,000 passengers per day; ten years later, it had 150 routes with 1.13 million passengers per day; and in May 2013, the number of passengers increased to 1.28 million per day.
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[Tuoi Tre]
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