Nghe An: Will invest in buses running on Vinh inner city routes

On the morning of October 14, the Standing Committee of the Provincial People's Council had a meeting with the Department of Transport under the program of supervising the settlement of voters' petitions in the province. Comrade Hoang Viet Duong - Member of the Provincial Party Executive Committee, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Council chaired the meeting. Photo: Mai Hoa

Investing in inner city buses

At the meeting, the issue that the members of the Standing Committee of the Provincial People's Council were most concerned about was the management of bus operations, which is causing much frustration among the people.

Affirming that the opinions of voters and people about bus operations in recent times are accurate, Director of the Department of Transport Hoang Phu Hien admitted some shortcomings in bus operations such as: Moving within the city is slow, and in the suburbs there is the phenomenon of speeding and reckless overtaking.

At some times, the parking spots are too long, while the regulations state that the vehicles must stop to pick up and drop off passengers at the spots for no more than 5 minutes; the drivers' awareness is weak; the vehicles and equipment on some routes are degraded...

Director of the Department of Transport Hoang Phu Hien admitted some shortcomings and limitations in managing bus operations. Photo: Mai Hoa

Also according to the Director of the Department of Transport, recently, the Department has taken many measures to rectify, record and stop a number of "patterns" of violations.

Northeast bus accident on Highway 46 (2018). Photo: Archive

As monitored, route number 5 of the Dong Bac bus company, Vinh - Yen Thanh (including 16 vehicles) had the most violations and the worst quality of vehicles, so in early September, the Department decided to temporarily suspend the operation of this route to require the company to correct the problems.

Up to now, 3 of the 16 buses on route 5 of the Northeast company have been newly invested in and the remaining 11 have had all passenger seats reupholstered and the air conditioners repaired.

In parallel with rectifying bus operations on district routes, the Director of the Department of Transport also said that the Department is currently developing an inner-city bus project with a subsidy mechanism to attract investment to serve people's travel needs, reduce traffic congestion in Vinh city.

The delegation inspected the activities of the "one-stop" department of the Department of Transport. Photo: Mai Hoa

Explaining the issue of the Provincial People's Council Standing Committee regarding the opinions and recommendations of voters and people reflecting on oversized and overloaded vehicles. Director of the Department of Transport Hoang Phu Hien affirmed that although the Department has taken drastic measures in the past, the situation of oversized and overloaded vehicles is still common on many district and provincial roads.

The reason is that the coordination between functional forces and patrol and inspection work has not been closed in the area. 3 solutions that need to be focused on in the coming time are: Strengthening effective coordination with functional forces in handling, associated with strengthening closed patrol and control routes, and at the same time advising the Provincial People's Committee to direct quarries to install weighing stations to transmit data to the Department for monitoring, warning and cold handling.

Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Council Hoang Viet Duong requested the Department of Transport to continue to enhance its responsibility in coordinating the handling of oversized and overloaded vehicles; rectify bus operations; and pay attention to clearing traffic safety corridors. Photo: Mai Hoa

Concluding the meeting, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Council Hoang Viet Duong acknowledged the attention to research and sending delegations to inspect, handle and respond to voters' recommendations and feedback under the responsibility of the Department of Transport.

The Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Council requested the Department of Transport to pay attention to reviewing, developing plans and investment roadmaps, upgrading routes in order of priority, especially routes related to investment projects that are attracted; at the same time, be responsible for monitoring and updating routes under the management of the Ministry of Transport to promptly propose and recommend the Ministry to allocate resources for timely maintenance and upgrading.

In addition, the Department continues to enhance responsibility in coordinating the handling of oversized and overloaded vehicles; rectifying bus operations; paying attention to clearing traffic safety corridors...

Since the beginning of the term, the transport sector has received 244 opinions and recommendations from voters; of which 88 recommendations are under the authority of the Department; 156 recommendations are under the Ministry of Transport, the Road Administration Department II, investors of transport works and district-level localities. Regarding the authority of the Nghe An Department of Transport, 55/88 opinions have been resolved, reaching 62.50%; 30/88 opinions are being resolved; 3/88 opinions have not been resolved.