According to the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Transport, after one year operated, the number of BRT’s passengers was only about half of the expected 24,700 people despite the high investment cost, with the figure being US$144 million. Therefore, the high-end buses are planned to alter BRT as this is a suitable, affordable, safe and effective solution which can create a bus network and is in accordance with the city’s strategy to develop the public transport system.
Design of BRT No.1 of Vo Van Kiet-Mai Chi Tho route in Ho Chi Minh City. (Photo: The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Transport)
The 14.5km BRT corridor in Hanoi with 23 stations has also shown no expected outcome despite the consultation from WB’s experts because of the unsuitable position of BRT corridor as well as planning mistakes.
Specifically, most of BRT routes in Hanoi run parallelly with Hanoi’s metro overhead rail line which is currently under construction and expected to be operated in 2018, reducing the low amount of BRT’s passengers and restricting the BRT services. Also, this corridor which is located in the south of the city runs across an extensive agricultural and low residential density land, and even a large cemetery, which is only suitable for a long-term plan. However, the designed capacity for BRT is too low and waiting stations are unattracted, annoying passengers and only meeting a small amount of demand for BRT in the future.
Obviously, BRT routes in Vietnam’s big cities like Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh have not operated effectively as expected, impacting other vehicles and even showed less positive result than normal buses; therefore, alternatives should be proposed to respond to the rising demand for transportation in the future.
