The wheels on the (electric) bus go round and round.
Tuoi Tre News reports that Saigon's first electric bus route is expected to launch by the end of the first quarter of this year. Operated by Vinbus, a subsidiary of Vingroup, the 29-kilometer-long route will connect the Vinhomes Grand Park apartment complex in Thủ Đức City and the Saigon Bus Station in District 1.
This is part of a two-year trial program approved by the municipal People's Committee, and tickets are expected to cost up to VND7,000 at most. A detailed map with stops hasn't been released yet, though four more electric Vinbus lines are expected to be added in the third quarter of this year.
All four will start or end at Grand Park, with links to the Emart Mall in Gò Vấp District, Tân Sơn Nhất International Airport, the new Miền Đông Bus Station, and the Vietnam National University campus. Across these five routes, 77 buses will be used, with each one able to carry 65–70 passengers.
While the Vinbus routes won't technically be the first public transport option in Saigon to use electric bus, they will be the first to make use of full-sized vehicles. In 2017, the city unveiled an electric bus service employing open minibuses.
Hanoi welcomed its first Vinbus route in early December, running from Vinhomes Ocean Park to My Dinh, and two more have been added since.
[Photo via Xe Doi Song]
