Hanoi tests $49 million bus rapid transit route

To help people get used to the rapid bus service, Hanoi is planning to test run a route in the fourth quarter and expects to put it into operation in early 2015.

Vice Chairman of the City People's Committee Nguyen Quoc Hung has just assigned the Department of Transport to coordinate with the Department of Finance and Hanoi Transport Corporation to plan a trial bus route in the fourth quarter of 2014 to help people and passengers get acquainted.

The two-way BRT route will run along the median strip of the road. The stations will be located in the middle of the median strip and will have separate walkways for passengers. Photo: Ba Do

The Department of Transport is assigned to coordinate with the Department of Finance and the Hanoi Transport Corporation to review the public transport sector, transfer and reduce vehicles and transfers on inefficient routes to supplement vehicles, increase frequency on routes with high transport demand and expand the operating area to increase the number of people using the service.

According to VnExpress, the BRT project is still in disarray, many items have not been completed such as Kim Ma Central Station, the final stop is Yen Nghia Bus Station. There is only one bus stop with international standards completed on Le Van Luong Street.

Hanoi's first pilot rapid bus route is Kim Ma - Yen Nghia, which will run along the route Yen Nghia - Ba La - Le Trong Tan - Le Van Luong extension - Lang Ha - Giang Vo - Kim Ma bus station. According to the management unit's calculations, the rapid bus will take about 30 minutes to travel the entire 14 km Kim Ma - Yen Nghia route, instead of more than an hour like the current regular bus.

The express buses will run every 3-5 minutes, with a capacity of 90 passengers, 4 doors, and a speed of 22 km/h. All vehicles have a GPS system, connected to the Operation Center to resolve any problems that may arise. At the intersection, there is also a system integrated with traffic lights to give priority to express buses passing through the intersection.

The total investment of the project, including infrastructure construction, waiting rooms, vehicles, etc., is 49 million USD, using loans from the World Bank, in which Vietnam contributes counterpart capital by covering land clearance costs. This rapid bus route is expected to operate from the beginning of 2015.

According to Vnexpress