Congestion along Dien Bien Phu Street, HCM City

HCM City Department of Transport has reported about the plan to the HCM City Urban Transport Advisory Council.

The public bus lane on Dien Bien Phu Street will be 3.6km long and the lane on Vo Thi Sau Street will be 2.2km long.

The buses will be given special priority for two hours during the morning rush hours and three hours during the afternoon rush hours.

If it is approved, the project will be started in late 2019.

Taking lessons from the BRT bus lane in Hanoi, Public Transportation Management Centre’s Director Tran Chi Trung said some other vehicles can use the lanes including the ambulances, fire trucks, minibuses, and passenger buses that have more than 12 seats.

According to Trung, Dien Bien Phu and Vo Thi Sau streets connect Cho Lon Station and the dormitory complex of the Vietnam National University so there are many students and the traffic flow is always high.

This is not the first time HCM City tried to open bus lanes. The local authorities piloted a bus lane on Tran Hung Dao Street and opened two free parking lots for two-wheeled vehicles.

However, the project failed because buses rarely used the lane.

Many people worried that the new project will fail and cause more congestion.

However, Trung said one of the reasons bus travel was unpopular was because it was unreliable.

Personal vehicles take up the majority of the road, combing with rush-hour congestion, public buses rarely have any space left to move.

This time, they have carefully calculated everything and would work with the Saigon River Tunnel Management Centre to survey the site and draft the most suitable plans.

Lao Dong/Dtinews

HCM City to set up bus-only lanes this year

HCMC plans to set up separate lanes for buses operating on the District 3 sections of Dien Bien Phu and Vo Thi Sau streets, aiming to shorten the time needed for commuting by bus.