Illustrative photo (Source: thesaigontimes.vn) HCM City (VNA) - HCM City plans to open private lanesfor buses on two major streets to speed up operating time and attract busriders, among other plans to ease traffic congestion, according to the city’sDepartment of Transport.
Tran Chi Trung, director of the city’s Management and ControlCentre for Public Passenger Transportation, said the private lanes would beopened on Vo Thi Sau and Dien Bien Phu streets.
On Dien Bien Phu Street, the first bus-only lane will start from LyThai To Roundabout in District 10 and go to Sai Gon Bridge in District 2.
The second lane will begin at Vo Thi Sau Street and the Dan ChuRoundabout in District 3 and end at Dinh Tien Hoang Street in District 1.
If the pilot bus-lane project is successful, the city will openprivate bus lanes on the streets of Truong Chinh, Nam Ky Khoi Nghia, Nguyen VanTroi, Pham Van Dong, and on a section of Hanoi Highway. Then it might expand itto other streets.
The Management and Control Centre for Public PassengerTransportation submitted three bus-lane plans to the city’s People’s Committee.
In the first plan, the buses would share lanes with motorbikesrather than lanes for cars.
The second plan called for buses and cars to share lanes onseveral streets, such as Dien Bien Phu Street and Mai Chi Tho Boulevard.
In the third plan, the left side of one-way streets would be usedfor buses that pick up and drop off passengers instead of on the right side asusual.
Lawyer Thai Van Chung, deputy chairman of the HCM City CargoTransportation Association, said opening private lanes for buses on widestreets such as Vo Van Kiet, Pham Van Dong, Dien Bien Phu and Hanoi Highwaywould be effective.
Streets in urban areas during peak hours face traffic congestion, makingit difficult to open private lanes for buses, he said.
Last year, the number of bus passengers fell by 3.4 millioncompared to the number of bus passengers in 2015, while the city paid more than1,000 billion VND (44 million USD) in subsidies to bus companies in both years,according to the centre.
The centre said that poor infrastructure and lack of private laneshad caused buses to run late, leading to a drop in the number ofpassengers.-VNA
VNA
