It is easier to locate buses and terminals thanks to BusMap. (Photo: SGGP)

In major cities in Vietnam like Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), Hanoi, and Da Nang, the public used to feel frustrating identifying exact bus terminals. However, now that BusMap is introduced for both iOS and Android operating systems, finding an ideal bus route is never easier.

After a simple download and installation from Play Store or App Store, smartphone owners can effortlessly access BusMap and search for all kinds of information related to bus operation in HCMC, Hanoi, and Da Nang City, including bus schedules, terminal lists, ideal routes, bus fares, quality evaluation form.

BusMap has a visual map containing hundreds of bus stops, along with an effective route identification function specialized for Vietnamese streets. What is more, even though in the offline mode, the app is still able to help users find their perfect bus route and related functions thanks to the memory of their latest activities in BusMap.

It also allows people to monitor their current bus route and receive notice when the bus they are on is coming to their wished stops.

The most convenient feature is the app’s ability to read aloud terminals’ names, greatly aid blind people when using public transport.

At the moment, BusMap is leading the domestic market regarding mobile app for public transport, with more than 1 million downloads, 400 thousand of whom are frequent users. Reports also reveal that 20 percent of bus riders in HCMC exploited this app in 2018.

The app brought to its developer, Le Yen Thanh – CEO of BusMap Co. now, various awards since 2013, the most recent one being winner in the I-Star Awards 2019.

The Public Transport Management and Operation Center under the HCMC Department of Transport has finished synchronizing its bus database with BusMap, in hope of delivering precise information on bus schedules, routes, and real distances between terminals, along with the latest updates on real timetable of each bus every day.

This is supposed to help bus riders to exactly identify the arrival time of buses, and thus adjusting their own agenda accordingly.

Since BusMap consists of many parts like servers, a website, and mobile apps, all of which are designed synchronously, this product can be easily applied in several cities in the shortest time possible. It was successfully implemented in Hanoi, attracting 200,000 downloads. In the last 6 months, it has also been set up in Da Nang City.

In 2019 and 2020, BusMap is going to be used more widely in other provinces in Vietnam. SGGP

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