August 5^th, Mr. Nguyen Kim Toan, Director of Daily Company (unit assigned to plan of public passenger transport by waterway in HCMC) said:

By Anh Quan - The Saigon Times Daily

Passengers disembark from a hydrofoil at Bach Dang Wharf. The city has approved Thuong Nhat Company to launch waterway commuter services on a trial basis - Photo: Kinh Luan

HCMC – The HCMC government on Tuesday approved a proposal to launch two waterway commuter routes linking Bach Dang Wharf with the outskirts to ease road traffic congestion in the city.

Under the proposal submitted by Thuong Nhat Co. Ltd., the company will launch a route linking the city center with the outlying district of Thu Duc, and another branching out to District 8, both routes stretching 11km each.

The first route will start from Bach Dang Wharf and end in Linh Dong Wharf in Thu Duc, while the other one, also starting at Bach Dang Wharf, will transport commuters via Ben Nghe and Tau Hu canals before ending at Lo Gom Bridge. Both routes will only be launched on a trial basis, said an official from the city government’s Administration Office.

In its study sent to the city’s Department of Transport, Thuong Nhat Company said the two routes have a medium length, but the waterway transport will cut the traveling time by two-thirds compared to bus service.

It will take only half an hour for a commuter boat to cover the whole route, inclusive of the time for passengers to get on board and to disembark, the company said in its study.

After more than two months since Daily Co., Ltd had submitted "The project to build two routes public passenger transportation by waterway", City People's Committee has approved this policy for this company studies & implement pilot project; Department of Transportation & Traffic has presided and coordinated with other departments - People's Committee of Districts concerned to consider the evaluation of the project before submitting decision of City People’s Committee.

Daily Company recommends building two pilot bus routes along Saigon River linking two points Linh Dong (Thu Duc) and Bach Dang Wharf (District 1) and the route along Ben Nghe, Tau Hu canal linking District 8 with Bach Dang Wharf (District 1). Each route is 11km in length.

Under this project, the total of expenses for first stage is about VND 58 billion of which VND 28 billion to buy 80 boats, 80 seats per boat, VND 30 billion to build four multi-functional terminals and eight stations. The Company will buy boats & build four multi-functional piers and recommend City’s support to build 08 stations along two routes (about VND 12 billion).

As the expectation, each 15 minutes, one boat will depart during rush hours and can stretch in low hours. These two bus lines are capable of transporting about 10,000 passengers per day.

Proposed fare is VND 15,000 per ticket, higher than road bus from 3-5 times, but the time just by 2 /3 compared with road buses and traffic jams. Including stopped time to pick passenger up, just 30 minutes from two suburban cities (Thu Duc, District 8) to city center (District 1). If the two pilot lines has satisfactory effect, the company will proceed the stage 2, building of new lines such as Bach Dang-Te Canal-Phu My Hung; Mieu Noi-Binh Loi-Fatima-Binh Trieu-Thanh Da-Thao Dien; routes linking Ho Chi Minh with neighboring provinces such as Binh Duong, Dong Nai, Long An ...

Phan Tu

Giao Thông Vận Tải Newspaper

Source: http://giaothongvantai.com.vn/Desktop.aspx/Doanh-nhan/Doanh-nhan/TPHo_Chi_Minh_Giao_doanh_nghiep_thi_diem_hai_tuyen_buyt_tren_song/

People’s Committee of HCMC has just approved in writing for the policy of pilot construction and exploiting two lines of public passenger transport by waterway proposed by Daily Co., Ltd.