It has been instructed to work with various ministries and other agencies to finalise economic-technical criteria for the buses and pricing.

Its People’s Committee last month sought permission from the Government to operate 77 electric buses on five routes for a two-year trial period.

The electric buses with 65-70 seats will be operated by conglomerate Vingroup during the trial period, but in future the operators will be chosen through tender.

Nine new bus stations, a depot and a 12,200sq.m parking lot at Vinhome Grand Park in Thu Duc City will be built by the company.

The five routes will be from Vinhome Grand Park to E-mart supermarket, Tan Son Nhat International Airport, Sai Gon Bus Station, the new Mien Dong (Eastern) Bus Station, and the Vietnam National University-HCM City campus.

The city will make an assessment at the end of the trial period.

Public transportation currently meets only 9.2 per cent of demand in the city, according to the Department of Transport.

The city has been seeking to develop public passenger transport and earmarked VND500 trillion (US$21.6 million) for it.

VNS 

HCM City to open five electric-bus routes for 2-year trial run

The HCM City Department of Transport has asked the municipal People's Committee to approve five new subsidized electric-bus routes that will be operated by Vingroup and run on a pilot basis for 24 months.