Along with a new metro, Saigon has launched a project to build a $155 million, 6-line bus rapid transit (BRT) system, with the first to be completed by 2018.
The BRT system is part of the “HCMC Green Traffic – Ideas and Basic Designs,” a project that was introduced at a seminar held on Tuesday by the HCMC Urban Civil Works Construction Investment Management Authority (UCCI), reports Tuoi Tre.
Luong Minh Phuc, head of the UCCI, said that the first line will break ground in early 2016 and should be completed within two years.
23.4km Line No. 1 will run along the Mai Chi Tho and Vo Van Kiet Avenues and will start at the An Lac roundabout in Binh Chanh District and run through six other districts – District 1, 5, 6 and 8, and Binh Tan and Binh Chanh Districts – before ending in the T-junction Cat Lai in District 2.
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The route will be comprised of 32 stations and a technical logistic center, serving 31,600 passengers per day.
Funding for the BRT system will come mainly from World Bank ODA with the remainder covered by the State budget.
While plans for large scale public transportation systems continue to develop in Saigon, impending tax cuts on cars will likely congest city streets even further.
Hopefully, the BRT and metro systems will prove to be effective alternatives before car culture becomes deeply ingrained in the lifestyle of Saigonese.
[Tuoi Tre]
