HCM City (VNS/VNA) - The Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien urban railway line No 1 in Ho Chi Minh City is expected to roll out on December 22, and to help passengers, the municipal Department of Transport (DoT) is setting up 17 electric bus routes connected to metro stations, the equivalent of 150 buses.

The details were reveale♏d by Ngo Hai Duong, head of the Road Transport Management Division under the DoT, at a meeting on socio-economic issues organised by the municipal Party Committee's Commission for Information and Education, in coordination with the HCM City Department of Information and ✨Communications, December 12 afternoon.

The bus routes will run along the Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien Metro corridor and pick up passengers from neighbouring streets to take them to the nearest station. Duong said that construction on Metro Line No 1 of the Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien route is now complete, with the service running a trial last month. Currently, the city’s Urban Railway Management Board is completing final procedures related to the system safety certification and environmental permits. To ensure the Metro Line 1 works at optimal efficiency, the DoT has developed a plan and implemented many integration options with other types of transport including buses, public bicycles, four-wheel electric vehicles and river buses. At the same time, it installed 162 stops, 61 waiting rooms, and two-wheeled parking spaces for train passengers at Van Thanh, Thao Dien, Binh Thai, Rạch Chiec and Phuoc Long stations. The electric bus routes will be rolled out earlier than the official launch date of Metro Line 1 to ensure smooth operation and allow people to gradually get used to the new transport option. Regarding the electric bus charging station system, the Phuong Trang Company – which manages the 17 bus routes – built two charging stations at the company's parking lot in Thu Duc city with 23 charging posts, with a capacity of 180kW and 240kW. For public bicycles, the Public Transport Management Centre coordinated with the Tri Nam Group Joint Stock Company to rearrange 45 public bicycle stations in District 1, establishing them around underground metro stations and equipping them with electric bicycles to increase passenger convenience. For four-wheel electric vehicles with engines, the centre finished a plan to connect with three underground stations of Metro Line 1 including Ben Thanh, City Opera House, Ba Son, and Tan Son Nhat Airport. At the three stations, the electric vehicles will operate with flexible routes and times, based on people's needs to reduce travel costs, with ticket prices between 5,000-10,000 VND (0.19-0.39 USD) per trip. In addition, the DoT plans to develop a river bus route connecting the Ba Son and Tan Cang stations. The city's public transport system, including Metro Line 1, buses, river buses, and open-top double-decker buses, has been integrated into the Gobus app, making it easy for passengers to find information and choose convenient routes. Duong said that Metro Line 1 was expected to bring positive and profound changes to traffic in HCM City. Major routes such as Le Loi, Nguyen Hue, Ton Duc Thang, Nguyen Huu Canh, and Vo Nguyen Giap should be significantly eased in terms of traffic volumes, especially during rush hours. Bus operations will also be adjusted to avoid overlapping routes with the metro line, while optimising operating times and effectiveness. This will significantly reduce personal vehicles, reducing congestion and traffic accidents. With its speed, convenience and reasonable ticket prices, the city hopes the metro line will encourage more computers to switch to public transport, changing travel habits and awareness of environmental protection, he said. The Metro Line 1 also plays an important role in sustainable urban development. Reducing the number of personal vehicles will significantly improve air quality, reduce noise and minimise environmental pollution in the city. The metro line will promote transit-oriented development (TOD), helping to increase land use value, change the urban landscape, and promote economic and tourism development around the station area. This is an important step towards a modern, efficient and environmentally friendly transport system. The Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien Metro is approximately 19.7km long, with three underground stations and 11 elevated stations. The line will carry a total of 17 trains, each capable of carrying 930 passengers, including 147 seated and 783 standing passengers. The maximum design speed is 110km/h (for the elevated section) and 80km/h (for the underground section). /.