The Da Nang Department of Transport will create the best conditions for people to access the bus system by expanding the network to increase coverage, thereby increasing the efficiency of the public bus system, limiting personal vehicles, and reducing congestion in front of school gates.

The inauguration of bus routes connecting Da Nang with Hoi An and Tam Ky in Quang Nam Province. Photo: PHUONG UYEN

In order to increase the efficiency of the bus system and limit congestion, the Department of Transport will take a number of solutions to limit personal vehicles and strengthen control of sidewalk order.

The focus will also be on prohibiting and limiting parking on downtown routes, collecting parking fees, and conducting research and deploying specialised bus routes such as school buses and company buses to serve people during certain time frames.

Statistics show that in recent times, the operation of bus routes has also achieved encouraging results although the city's investment resources for subsidised buses are not much. Specifically, compared to the population ratio, the subsidy rate of the bus system in Da Nang is only VND 30,000/person, while that in Ho Chi Minh City is more than VND 170,000/person and that in Ha Noi is more than VND 230,000/person. Meanwhile, the number of passengers using public buses before COVID-19 pandemic increased by 30-50%.

After the period of social distancing due to the pandemic, the annual growth rate of the Da Nang bus system is very impressive with 900,000 passengers in 2022 and 1.7 million passengers in 2024.

The expansion of bus routes in the city aims to meet the essential travel needs of people in remote areas, helping them easily access public services, and limiting the use of personal vehicles.

However, many people believe that public buses operating in Da Nang are having difficulty attracting passengers. Aside from the limited number of people using public transport, the coverage of bus routes in industrial parks is not close to factories. The bus routes all stop outside the gates and fences of the industrial parks, so to get to work, workers have to walk for 20 minutes.

According to Mr. Tran Van Dong who works at a factory in the Hoa Khanh Industrial Park, the city's bus routes all run outside, there are no routes running into the industrial park, so workers cannot choose the bus to get to work. Most recently, the city has resumed the Da Nang - Hoi An and Da Nang - Tam Ky bus routes to meet people's travel needs.

According to Director of the municipal Department of Transport Bui Hong Trung, the current habit of using buses among Da Nang people is still limited. The reason is that the characteristics of urban areas in Viet Nam, including Da Nang, are mostly shop houses, with the frontage used for business, leading to encroachment on sidewalks.

Moreover, personal vehicles are more mobile than public transport, so people often use personal vehicles even for very short distances. The operation of subsidized intra-city bus routes has been implemented since 2017. Up to now, although the number of routes has increased from 11 to 14, there are only 6 subsidized routes instead of 11 routes as before.

In the coming time, the municipal Department of Transport will continue to promote the advantages of using buses, and create the best conditions for people to access the bus system through expanding the network to increase coverage.

At the same time, importance will be attached to strengthening connection methods such as electric cars and bicycles, arranging parking spots for personal vehicles at transit points, and maintaining and improving subsidy methods for disadvantaged and low-income groups.

Reporting by PHUONG UYEN - Translating by M.DUNG