Vice Chairman of the HCMC People's Committee Bui Xuan Cuong signed a proposal submitted to the municipal People's Council for a draft resolution to issue policies supporting people using public passenger transport services, including buses and metro lines, and provide financial support for the operation of such services in the city.
Under the proposal, the budget for free metro rides is estimated at VND15.7 billion (US$618,181), while the cost for 17 connecting bus routes is set at VND17.3 billion (US$681,180).
In addition, the city plans to allocate a budget of VND32.6 billion (US$1.3 million) and VND10.7 billion (US$421,681) per year to offer subsidized bus and metro fares for policy-beneficiary individuals respectively.
The financial support for bus operation is VND1,843 billion (US$72.6 million) per year, while the support for metro line operation is VND383 billion (US$15.1 million) per year.
As planned, HCMC's metro line 1 (Ben Thanh – Suoi Tien) is expected to come into commercial operation at the end of December.
