Young people use an app to hire public bicycles in HCM City. (Photo: VNA)Undera pilot project by the city’s Department of Transport, which is set to start atthe end of the year, up to 2,000 bicycles will be available at 200 stations inseven districts of Tay Ho, Ba Dinh, Dong Da, Thanh Xuan, Hoan Kiem, Hai Ba Trungand Cau Giay, as well as around stations on Cat Linh – Ha Dong urbanrailway.
Thepublic bicycle service will provide city-dwellers with a modern, convenient andenvironmentally friendly means of transport, increasing connectivitybetween public transport, as well as urban areas and office buildings, thedepartment said.
Theservice is expected to have little impact on traffic flow, the departmentsaid.
DaoViet Long, deputy director of the department, expects the projectto gradually change people's travel habits andreduce environmental pollution.
Publicbicycles will initially form an auxiliary network to help connect peopleto bus stations, he added.
DoBa Dan, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Tri Nam Group Joint Stock Company– the project investor – said that the service would come into operationin the fourth quarter of this year, at the latest.
Bicyclesused for the project consist of pedal-powered and electric models.
Itis expected that the cost for each 30-minute ride will be 5,000 VND (0.2USD) for traditional bicycles and 10,000 VND (0.4 USD) for electric bicycles.
Peoplewho rent a bicycle for the whole day will pay 60,000 VND (2.5 USD) for atraditional bicycle and 120,000 VND (5 USD) for an electric bike.
Riderswill be able to buy daily, monthly, quarterly and yearly tickets and payusing their banking application or e-wallet.
Inthe short term, the first phase of the project will be implemented in the ninedistricts between 2022 and 2023. In the second phase, which will be run between2023 and 2024, about 3,000 bicycles will be placed at 350 stations.
AssociateProfessor Vu Anh Tuan, Director of the Vietnam - Germany Transport ResearchCentre, told Kinh Te & Do Thi (Economic andUrban Affairs) online newspaper that public bicycles connecting to thepublic transport system is necessary to reduce the number of people usingprivate vehicles and help them switch to public transport.
"Thisis a civilised solution to help reduce environmental pollution applied inadvanced countries," he said.
Healso said that the city should consider a plan to subsidise prices so thatthe cost of travelling by public bicycle is cheaper than by private vehicles,he added.
SinceDecember 2021, a public bicycle service has been operated in HCM City bythe company and has received positive feedback.
Infrastructure for bicycles
Accordingto experts, the trend of sustainable urban development is promoting therole of bicycles - a green, clean and environmentally friendly means oftransport.
Manycities such as Copenhagen (Denmark), Amsterdam (the Netherlands), Berlin(Germany), Strasbourg (France) and Beijing (China) have re-shaped urbaninfrastructure in a way that encourages bicycles, such as buildingseparate bridges, lanes and parking areas for bicycles.
Themost bike-friendly city in the world is Copenhagen with 62 percent of work andschool journeys made by bike.
PhamHoai Chung, an expert on transportation strategy, said that in order to developpublic bicycle service, first and foremost, it is advisable to create a safeand secure environment, thereby attracting a large number of people andtourists using public bicycles.
Reservedlanes and intersections need to be designed to support bicycle riders to moveefficiently and safely, he said.
Next, asuitable network of parking locations is necessary, as well as connections withother modes of transport, he said.
Third,applying technology in running the public bicycle service will help peopleaccessing it conveniently and using it easily, he said.
However,in major cities, including Hanoi, infrastructure for bicycles is believed to bea huge challenge and barrier to developing public bicycle services, he said.
Therefore,Chung said the city should build infrastructure for bicycles in downtownareas and then develop it gradually.
Ifthere are no large sidewalks or roads with wide cross-sections toarrange bicycle lanes, riders need to be given priority with aseparate signage system when they are on the roads, he said.
VuHoai Nam, a lecturer at the Faculty of Bridges and Roads under the Universityof Civil Engineering, said that the issuance of guidelines for the design ofbicycle infrastructure in urban areas is necessary.
Inaddition to reducing the risk of accidents for cyclists, the design of bicycleinfrastructure also contributes to promoting the development of urban publictransport systems, shifting traffic demand in the direction of usingenvironmentally-friendly public transport, he said./.
VNA
