Photo for illustation. (Source: CPV)
Public transport by waterway can save up to 40% of time compared to road transport, quite apart from the fact that passengers do not have to suffer traffic jams every day. If travelling from District 1 to District 12 by bus, the possibility of traffic congestion will be 40% while the prospect is only 1% for river bus. With the pressure on the city’s overloaded road system, the Ho Chi Minh city People’s Committee has approved two inland waterway transport routes, or river bus routes, to ease traffic pressure on roads.
The first route is from Bach Dang wharf in District 1 to Linh Dong ward in Thu Duc. As planned, the 11 kilometer route will comprise seven berths in Districts 1, 2, Binh Thanh and Thu Duc. Boats will depart from Bach Dang, travel along the Saigon siver, across Thanh Da canal and end at a wharf in the Binh Quoi river, Linh Dong ward, Thu Duc district and vice versa.
Meanwhile, the second route from Bach Dang to Lo Gom is 10.3 kilometers in length. It will start from Bach Dang to move along the Saigon river to reach Ben Nghe canal and stop at Tau Hu canal through districts 1, 4, 5, 6, 8 and vice versa.
The first route is expected to open to traffic in June 2017, while the second route will come into operation in September 2017.
Aiming to offer favorable conditions for the two river bus routes, the southern hub decided to build a central wharf for the both of them in Thu Duc district with an area of about 3 hectares, comprising all facilities necessary for the operation and maintenance of boats. The Bach Dang wharf alone will be planned and built by the city.
Mr. Phan Cong Bang, Head of the management office for waterway transport under the city Department of Transport, said that travel time for this transport type is relatively exact, which will contribute to attracting numerous passengers. Ticket fare is expected to be VND15,000. The two new routes will be connected with road systems so that passengers can catch buses to other destinations in the city from Bach Dang wharf.
As scheduled, in the first phase, the two routes will be equipped with 10 modern boats having a minimum capacity of 60 passengers each. The travel time over the distance of 11 kilometers is about 30 minutes, two thirds of the running time of road buses on the same route. Once operational, they are expected to carry about 5,000 passengers a day.
The ensuring of traffic safety on the water transport routes is implemented strictly, in accordance with regulations of the Inland Water Transport Law.
The total investment in the project is about VND133 billion (USD5.86 million) and the routes will be developed in the form of BOO (Build-Own-Operate).
The nine wharves of the first route include:
1- Binh Quoi, Linh Dong ward, Thu Duc district (Km12+500).
2- Hiep Binh Chanh, Hiep Binh Chanh ward, Thu Duc district (Km10+770).
3- The central wharf, Hiep Binh Chanh ward (Km08+750)
4- Thanh Da, ward 27, Binh Thanh district (Km08+940).
5- Tam Vu, ward 26, Binh Thanh district (Km07+820).
6- Thao Dien, Thao Dien ward, district 2 (KM05+660).
7- Binh An, Binh An ward, district 2 (Km03+604).
8- Sai Gon Pearl, ward 22, Binh Thanh district (Km02+326).
9- Bach Dang, Ben Nghe ward, district 1 (Km00+000)./.