Hanoi will open 45-55 new bus lines in 2021 in line with the mass transit development plan in the 2021-30 period, according to the Hanoi Department of Transport.

Hanoi will open 45-55 new bus lines in 2021. Photo: Cong Hung

According to the 2021 plan, the city's bus fleet is estimated to comprise from 2,720 to 2,900 vehicles, of which, the proportion of vehicles using clean energy will reach at least 5-10%. 

Under the plan, the municipal transport authority will rationalize the public transport network to increase connectivity and the transfer of passengers between buses and the Cat Linh-Ha Dong urban railway line and the Nhon-Hanoi Railway Station line after these two are put into operation.

The city will organize small buses running on narrow roads and streets to increase passengers’ access, continue to expand the network to suburban areas and centers such as new housing development, commercial centers, entertainment areas and industrial parks. It will also develop more intercity and inter-provincial bus lines to curb the movement of private vehicles from neighboring localities to the city.

According to a report from the municipal People’s Committee, the mass transit network in Hanoi currently with 126 bus lines covers 30 districts and towns, 453 out of 579 communes, wards and towns, reaching 66 out of 71 hospitals, and 296 out of 708 secondary and high schools as well as 32 out of 37 industrial zones in the city.

According to an expansion plan of mass transit network in the period 2021-30, the city’s public transport network will be expanded by 80% to 90% to ensure the people’s accessibility by 2030, and meets the criteria that people anywhere in the city could hop on a bus in a radius of 500 meters.

In order to improve the quality of mass transportation services, Hanoi will draw up more regulations to create a healthy competitive environment, subsidize interest rates on loans of public transport companies to expand the bus fleet.