Hop on-hop off buses are not attracting passengers due to high ticket prices. (Photo: soha.vn)Hanoi (VNA) - The number ofpassengers using open-top tour buses in the capital was averaging about only 7per trip each day, according to a report by the Hanoi Transport Company(Transerco).
The main reason for the lack of passengers wasthe high fares, said the corporation.
Vu Van Vien, Director of Hanoi’s Department ofTransport, said that “the city tour was aimed at tourists, especiallyforeign guests”.
“The bus company should develop programmes andwork with travel companies to expand the service,” said Vien, adding that thiswould take from six months to one year.
Last year, the city received 23.83 millionvisitors, of which international tourists were estimated at 4.95 million.
However, the long intervals between tours was ananother reason that passengers were not getting on board, he said.
At present, there are three double-decker busesrunning every 30 minutes.
Despite being a key unit in charge of the city’spublic transport, Transerco had no experience in tourism so it had cooperatedwith Anh Viet Travel Company to promote and advertise the service, leading tohigh fees.
Although the existing buses had failed toattract passengers, Hanoi had permitted another company to open the sameservice.
Vien explained: “It’s fair for all units thatwant to do business. Opening more city tours will help the bus companies toimprove quality as well as give more options for passengers.”
In May this year, Hanoi launched its firstdouble-decker city tour, with hop-on and hop-off at 13 stops, running through25 streets and taking tourists to 30 destinations around the city.
Tickets cost 300,000 VND (13.3 USD) for afour-hour tour, 450,000 VND (20 USD) for 24 hours and 650,000 VND (28.8 USD)for 48 hours.
The bus arrives every 30 minutes from 9am to 5pmevery day. Tourists can choose to jump off at any bus stop along the route.
The buses are equipped with an automaticmulti-lingual narration system in Vietnamese, English, Chinese, Japanese andKorean.
Each bus is worth 6 billion VND (258,000 USD)with loading capacity of 80 passengers and free wifi, refrigerators, TVs andsurveillance cameras.
The Vietnam-Hanoi Tourism Stock Company is thesecond business to be permitted to run open-top city tours.
The new route will run 14.8km with 10 stops,operating from 9am to 5.30pm every day.
The company has yet to announce tickets prices,but a representative said they would not be subsidised but calculated to ensureprofit and market competitiveness.-VNA
VNA
