Saigoneer's favorite form of transportation has just proposed adding two new routes linking District 7 and District 1.
According to VnExpress, water taxi route No. 3 would run from Bach Dang Wharf to Mui Den Do in District 7, with 11 stations spread across 13 kilometers. Meanwhile, route No. 4 would also run 13 kilometers to connect the District 1 wharf with Phu My Hung. The first line will feature boats with 50 seats, while the latter will have 40 seats.
To fund the lines, an unnamed private company will put up VND260 billion (US$11.5 million) and manage operations for five years, according to District 7 authorities. Route No. 2, from downtown District 1 to District 8 along the Tau Hu Canal, is still pending development.
The original 10.8-kilometer-long route travels from District 1 to Thu Duc City on a 21-minute journey along the Saigon River and Thanh Da Canal from Bach Dang Port in the city center to Linh Dong Ward in Thu Duc. It hits five stations in districts 1 and 2, as well as Binh Thanh and Thu Duc.
Saigon's water taxi system debuted in late 2017, though its ambitious plans of linking the city for reasonable transport have been largely unrealized. It currently only has four boats running per day since its post-pandemic-opening and is more of a tourist attraction than a transportation method for locals. It originally launched with six daily routes and expanded operations before scaling back in response to COVID-19 with 50% operation restrictions.
Officials from the Department of Transportation claim that over the next 30 years, the government will need to commit VND21 trillion to implement transportation on the city's 110 rivers and canals, which span 1,000 kilometers. The efforts are a key component of easing the city's increasing traffic congestion.
