A programme which subsidises ticket fares on 5 new intra-city bus routes officially started in Da Nang on 10 December last year.  The intention was to encourage local residents to use public transport rather than using their personal vehicles with the aim of easing traffic congestion.

An intra-city bus

The service now operates 61 high quality buses, all equipped with air conditioning, and the fares are visually displayed on the buses.  There are designated bus stops along each route.

Buses operate daily on the 5 intra-city routes, every 10 - 20 minutes from 5.00am to 9.00pm.  The fare is only 5,000 VND per passenger and, in addition, a monthly pass for 45,000 VND is available for prioritised commuters and 90,000 VND for others.  These beneficiaries are identified in line with the city’s regulations. Fare exemptions are offered to Vietnamese Heroic Mothers, disabled, elderly or poor people, local students and pupils, and workers in local industrial parks.

However, the number of customers using these services is disappointingly low. 

The reasons are thought to be that the inner-city area has a small radius of only between 5 km and 7 km, thus the travel demands of local residents by bus around the city is too low.  In addition, the 5 existing bus routes do not pass near such busy areas as local universities, the major coach station, the railway station, and the airport.

The bus routes are currently proving unpopular amongst local residents even though the city authorities have made great efforts to publicise them.  

Mr Nguyen Son from Ngu Hanh Son District’s Khue My Ward underlined the need for the city to develop more bus routes through other areas crowded with local residents, and to enhance even more the quality of the bus services to increase the number of passengers.