"Last weekend, I drove to Binh Trieu Bridge during rush hour and it took me exactly 2 hours to travel the 12km distance," said Mr. Tran Luu Quang.
Mr. Tran Luu Quang further analyzed that if human resources are wasted on the time and effort of so many people on the road, the waste figure is terrible. That is not to mention the severe flooding situation as in the past.
Not only the Binh Trieu Bridge area, but many other locations in the city are often congested.
Tens of thousands of vehicles crowded together, the roads became parking lots. People are stuck on the road, disrupting work and daily activities, that waste cannot be fully counted.
According to information from the Ho Chi Minh City transport industry and the Institute for Development Studies, each year the city loses about 6 billion USD due to traffic congestion.
In addition, air pollution is partly due to traffic jams.
The project to control vehicle emissions in Ho Chi Minh City provides information that air pollution from traffic causes an estimated economic loss of more than VND3,000 billion per year, equivalent to about 0.25% of Ho Chi Minh City's GRDP.
There have been many conferences and seminars related to solving traffic congestion in Ho Chi Minh City, but so far no solutions have been effectively implemented.
Management authorities and transport experts all agree on a strategic solution, which is to develop a public transport system to limit personal vehicles.
Since the first metro line was put into commercial operation, everyone can see the convenience, economy and civilization in using this means of transport.
However, Ho Chi Minh City needs more metro lines to talk about reducing traffic congestion.
According to the project to develop the urban railway system of Ho Chi Minh City, the goal by 2035 is to complete an additional 355 km of urban railway, ensuring public passenger transport reaches 40-50% of people's travel needs.
Just imagine, about 50% of people travel by metro, Ho Chi Minh City's roads will be very airy, the air will be cleaner, the city will be more civilized.
When there is a metro system and convenient connecting bus routes, people will abandon their personal vehicles, which has been proven through the exploitation of metro line 1.
The problem is that in 10 years, Ho Chi Minh City must complete this great task, meeting the people's expectations.
Along with the race against time to implement metro projects, Ho Chi Minh City must build infrastructure works such as underpasses and overpasses at key intersections.
10 years is the result as committed, but there must be positive changes every year, it is very hopeful.
