On the morning of December 20, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Transport coordinated with Phuong Trang Passenger Transport Joint Stock Company - FUTA Bus Lines to organize the opening ceremony of 17 subsidized electric bus routes connecting Metro Line No. 1, operating in Ho Chi Minh City.
As one of the first guests to experience the electric bus route connecting Metro Line 1, Ms. My Quynh (residing in Thu Duc City) said she was very happy that the city has another pure electric means of transportation.
"My first impression is that the bus is quite smooth and clean. The vehicle is also equipped with an air-conditioning system so it is very cool. I think city residents will definitely feel comfortable and pleasant like me when experiencing this bus route," said Ms. Quynh.
Sharing the same feeling, Ms. Hoang Tran Dieu Tho (residing in Go Vap district) said that she is very excited and looking forward to the change in the city's transportation system, as in the near future, Ho Chi Minh City residents will have a new, modern, and convenient means of public transportation to travel.
"I just hope that the operation of electric buses and Metro Line 1 will help reduce traffic congestion in the inner city," said Ms. Tho.
Mr. Dao Viet Anh - General Director of Phuong Trang Company said that the fleet of vehicles operating on 17 routes includes 150 newly invested electric buses, with a capacity of 30 and 60 seats.
"Most vehicles will be compact in size to be able to enter small roads and reach many residential areas that the existing bus system cannot reach," said Mr. Anh.
The car is equipped with many amenities such as air conditioning, camera, GPS, free wifi, automatic station notification device, cashless payment system...
The operating hours of these bus routes are from 5am to 10pm according to the operating hours of Metro Line 1, with an interval of 8-20 minutes per trip.
In particular, passengers using these 17 bus routes will be exempted from paying tickets for the first 30 days, in sync with Metro Line 1.
In addition to 17 bus routes connecting directly at stations, the existing bus system also has 44 routes that can access stations of Metro Line 1, bringing the total number of bus routes capable of connecting to Metro Line 1 to 61.
Currently, Ho Chi Minh City has also put into operation 5 private two-wheeled vehicle parking lots along Metro Line 1 at Van Thanh, Thao Dien, Rach Chiec, Phuoc Long and Binh Thai stations. With a total area of over 5,000m² and a capacity of over 2,000 vehicles, these parking lots are directly connected to the station by a pedestrian bridge, helping people conveniently use Metro Line 1 and gradually form the habit of traveling by public transport.
In addition, the Ho Chi Minh City Public Transport Management Center also built 23 new bus shelters and added 230 stops along the Hanoi - Vo Nguyen Giap Highway axis, to support existing bus routes and routes connecting to Metro Line 1.
This unit also coordinates to deploy additional modes of transport such as public bicycles, electric cars, taxis and two-wheeled and four-wheeled technology vehicles to increase convenience for passengers when using Metro Line 1.
