17 bus routes connecting Ben Thanh - Suoi Tien Metro have gathered cars in Ho Chi Minh City, operating this weekend when the project is operational.
For nearly a week now, 150 electric buses connecting Ben Thanh - Suoi Tien Metro stations have been gathered at two parking lots on Highway 13 and Hanoi Highway (Thu Duc City). According to the Public Transport Management Center (HCMC Department of Transport), these bus routes are operated by Phuong Trang Futabuslines Passenger Transport Joint Stock Company (the winning bidder).
At noon on December 17, more than 80 electric buses gathered at the parking lot on Highway 13, waiting to operate in sync with Metro Line 1, which will be put into commercial operation on January 22.
The Ben Thanh - Suoi Tien Metro Electric Bus has 17 routes. The trips are numbered: 153, 154, 155, 156, 157, 158, 159, 160, 161, 162, 163, 164, 165, 166, 167, 168 and 169.
The electric buses are predominantly green, with yellow rear and body. According to the company representative, the buses are manufactured in Hue and transported to Ho Chi Minh City by water and road.
The routes of these bus routes connect from residential areas, schools, traffic hubs, commercial centers... to Ben Thanh - Suoi Tien Metro stations. These are crowded places, making it easy for passengers to catch buses to the stations and vice versa.
All buses are electric, with 30 and 60 seats. The interior is similar to many other buses, with 16 to 25 hard seats.
The bus handles and bells are installed on both sides of the doors. In addition, the bus is fully equipped with air conditioning, emergency hammers, security cameras, announcement speakers, etc.
Each bus has a route, ticket price for each leg, and hotline. The ticket price is 5,000 VND per trip, with a discount of 3,000 VND for students. Annual tickets cost 112,500 VND.
The electric bus has a driver and a flight attendant. It runs from 5am to 10pm every day, with a frequency of 15 minutes per trip.
Before the operating day, the parking lot staff were busy cleaning the electric bus routes.
Mr. Nguyen Van Lan decorated the outside of the car. According to the representative of Phuong Trang bus company, the drivers and flight attendants are trained in driving and service skills by the company.
The operator has built two charging stations in Thu Duc City, and at the same time, utilized existing infrastructure nationwide, such as bus stations, rest stops, etc., to invest in this system.
At the charging station in the parking lot on Highway 13, there are 15 charging stations with two capacities of 240 kW and 180 kW. Each charging station can accommodate two electric buses.
Panorama of the electric bus park on Highway 13.
The bus network in Ho Chi Minh City currently has more than 2,000 vehicles, of which nearly 550 are electric and CNG (gas) buses, the rest run on diesel. Previously, from 2022, the city began piloting the operation of 5 electric bus routes, but so far only one route has been put into operation, D4 (Vinhomes Grand Park - Saigon Bus Station). The city is aiming for all replacement and newly invested buses to run on electricity and green energy by 2025.
Metro station routes. Graphics: Khanh Hoang
Ben Thanh - Suoi Tien Metro has a total investment of more than 43,700 billion VND, is the first urban railway project in Ho Chi Minh City. The entire route is nearly 20 km long, from Ben Thanh (District 1) to Long Binh depot (Thu Duc City), with three underground stations and 11 elevated stations. Along with organizing a connecting electric bus network, at many stations of this project, pedestrian bridges, parking lots, etc. are built for easy access.