Can Saigon’s first river bus line be ready on schedule this time?
After a survey trip on Saigon’s inaugural river bus line on Saturday, officials from the city’s Department of Transport said that the route will officially launch later this month, reports Tuoi Tre.
Despite having been “open” since last August, Saigoneers who were eager to try out the waterborne form of transport were turned away by staff at the line’s District 1 terminal since the river buses were still on trial.
At the time, only the two end stations of the route were completely built. However, this time transport officials seem positive that the service can launch in November.
From the Bach Dang Wharf in downtown Saigon, passengers will travel a distance of 10.8 kilometers to the other end in Thu Duc District along the Saigon River and Thanh Da Canal. The whole journey will take 45 minutes, and the boats will stop for three minutes at each station.
The November launch will only serve three other stops at the moment, apart from the two end stations: Binh An Station in District 2, Thanh Da Station in Binh Thanh District, and Hiep Binh Chanh Station in Thu Duc District.
In the future, the route will eventually include the remaining stations, namely Thu Thiem, Saigon Pearl, Tan Cang, Thao Dien, Tam Vu, Binh Trieu and Truong Tho.
The first river bus route's official map. Photo by Michael Tatarski.
Passengers will be charged VND15,000 (US$0.66) per trip during the route’s service hours from 6am to 7:30pm.
Dan Tri also shared recently that the city will start an electric bus service for tourists to commute between river bus stations and Saigon’s places of interests.
Plans for the metropolis’ river bus network began as early as July 2015; however, it wasn't until the first quarter of this year that city officials started turning them into a reality. The land components of the route were essentially finished in August, but the managing firm – Thuong Nhat Company – had to start a months-long test run to make sure everything operated smoothly.
[Photo via Zing]
