VNS reports that the HCMC Transport Department has submitted a proposal for a pilot program that would add 50 electric trolleys to provide better transportation services in the city center.
Associate Professor Nguyen Xuan Mai from HCM-based University of Science and Technology, an expert in urban transit, said that in order to reduce traffic, public transportation in the form of buses, trolleys and subways must account for at least 40 per cent of ridership:
"Currently, public transportation meets only seven per cent of demand by commuters. So we need to increase public transportation options to reduce traffic jams," Mai said.
The proposed trolleys are double the capacity and weight of traditional city busses but utilize electric engines, making them, “more environmentally friendly.”
The project is headed by the University of Transport’s Trinh Van Chinh, who said that trolleys would reduce the amount of motorbikes on HCMC’s streets while modernizing the city's public transport system.
The proposal was submitted last May but the People's Committee has yet to provide feedback.
We feel like we should be excited by this news, but the thought of massive trolleys added into the city’s traffic mix is a bit frightening.
Maybe we’ll just stay inside until the metro opens.
