The Hanoi Department of Education and Training is coordinating with the Hanoi Transport Corporation to conduct a survey on demand for buses among students from the primary to high school level.

Questionnaires and interviews on the demand for shuttle buses were sent to parents, asking what vehicle students use to go to school and whether they would use a shuttle bus if introduced.

The survey was conducted in 13 districts in the capital. After collecting results, bus routes will be developed to meet needs.

School buses run in many countries around the world, picking up students at fixed locations and times and using smart card tickets.

Mr. Pham Xuan Tien, Deputy Director of the Department, said that depending on the area, shuttle buses will run from school to school. 

If the project is approved, it will be carried out during the 2017-2018 semester.

School buses are expected to ensure the safety of children, cut traffic congestion and accidents, and shorten travel times. 

“It is very difficult to ban high school students from riding a motorbike to school because there is no public transport available for them,” Mr. Tien said. 

“If shuttle buses were offered, this problem would be resolved.”

Traffic congestion has become a real headache for Hanoi over recent years and a burden on the city of more than 10 million people. 

The number of individual vehicles on its streets has reached 5.5 million, including more than 4.9 million motorbikes, or more than 70 cars and nearly 700 motorbikes for every one kilometer of road. 

Hanoi’s transport authorities are aiming to reduce the number of individual vehicles and boost public transport.

VN Economic Times