A pilot bike-sharing scheme will be spread out across five downtown districts of Hanoi, in an attempt to lure visitors back for a longer stay in the capital city after Vietnam opened its borders to international tourism on March 15.

The two-phase project will be conducted by the municipal Department of Transport. It is expected to help improve the efficiency of public transport services as well as reduce personal vehicle use.

Public bicycles are used in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Le Quan

In the first phase (from 2022 to 2023), around 1,000 bikes and electric bikes will be available for rent at between 70-80 locking bike stands in the districts of Ba Dinh, Tay Ho, Dong Da, Ha Dong, and Thanh Xuan and the stations of Hanoi’s first metro line, which started operation in late 2021.

In the second phase (between 2023 and 2024), the service will be expanded to surrounding districts with 3,000 bikes available at 350 bike stands.

The service targets pupils, students, local people and visitors.

The total project investment for the service is VND26 billion (US$1.12 million). Users will pay a fee of VND20,000 (US$0.86) per hour.

Tri Nam Company, the investor selected to coordinate with the Hanoi Department of Transport to pilot the project also proposed the municipal People's Committee to set up a number of electronic charging stations for electric bikes used for this bike-sharing scheme.

The public bicycle share model will be implemented via an electronic application for people to search for locations of bike stands, book the service, and make the payment.  

“Hanoi is a big city with dense population, especially in the inner city, with close-knit houses and narrow roads. Passengers of bus and train will use sharing public bicycle to access the stations,” Master of Urban Management Phan Truong Thanh told The Hanoi Times.

He noted that in order to quickly expand public bicycle sharing, Hanoi needs to widely disseminate among the local residents about the benefits and convenience of the service.

Earlier, the sharing public bicycle was launched in Ho Chi Minh City’s District 1 last December.