Public buses run on Hanoi's Yen Phu Street. A pilot express route running from Kim Ma to Yen Nghia bus stations will be tested in the capital city in the third quarter of 2016. (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) – An overall check was carried out and a document was signed in Hanoi on May 31 to mark the completion of 21 stations designed for the local bus rapid transport (BRT) system.
The station network, managed by the Hanoi Transport & Services Corporation, is expected to be put into operation soon to reduce congestion on the 15-km Kim Ma-Yen Nghia route, which is known for its high level of traffic density.
The stations are located on central reservations, thus they will be heavily affected by the local hot and rainy weather conditions. A number of stations on Le Van Luong Street, whose construction began in 2014, saw rusty spots before their recent revamp.
The express bus system is part of the Hanoi urban transport development project, which was loaned over 155 million USD from the World Bank.
The 90 passenger buses will arrive every three to five minutes, and travel 22 kilometres per hour.
Passengers must buy electronic tickets at the bus stop before getting on board.
All rapid buses will be linked to their control centre through a GPS to make handling unexpected problems more efficient. The system will be connected to traffic lights and give the buses first priority to cross intersections.
The system is set for a test run in the third quarter of this year before officially becoming operational in the last quarter.-VNA
