Moreover, firms said the city government should build more CNG filling stations, maintain subsidization and delay replacement of the out-of-date buses.
Speaking at the meeting, deputy director of the Department Tran Quan Lam said that the Department and related agencies will resolve each problem especially incentive for investment and subsidization.
As per HCMC Department of Transport’s Management and Operation Center for Public Transport’s plan, the number of passengers travelling in public vehicles in 2017 will reach 600 million and 244 million people will travel on subsidized buses.
In the first six months of the year, 272.8 million traveled in the public vehicles, achieving 45.4 percent of the plan. There has been a year-on-year rise of 2.6 percent. Subsidized buses received 109.2 million passengers, an increase of 2.1 percent compared to same period last year and achieving 44.8 percent in the plan.
At present, of 145 bus routes in the city, 105 routes are subsidized and 40 routes are without subsidization to meet people’s travelling demand. Of 2,586 bus fleets, 299 are CNG-fueled buses; 2,266 diesel-fueled buses and 21 use petrol.
Transport firms will receive VND 1 trillion ($43,988,975) as subsidization for transporting students and workers in 2017. 11 firms and cooperatives which run 970 buses in 53 routes are also subsidized.
The Department asked the city authority for support as it strives to have 15-20 percent of students using public vehicles for travelling by 2020.
