HCM CITY — The HCM City Public Transport Management and Operation Centre plans to replace 500 old buses with new ones running on 28 routes by the end of the year.

Đậu An Phúc, director of the centre, said the move was part of the city’s project to replace 1,680 old buses. Initially, around 1,000 old buses are expected to be replaced next year.

Last Saturday, 47-seat buses on Route No. 23 from Chợ Lớn coach station in District 5 to Cầu Lớn coach station in Hóc Môn District were replaced by new 26-seat ones.

New air-conditioned buses are installed with a journey surveillance system and surveillance cameras to improve oversight and management of security on buses, Phúc said.

Early last month, the centre replaced buses running on Route No. 51 from Miền Đông (East) coach station in Bình Thạnh District to Bình Hưng Hòa Cemetery in Bình Tân District with 100 trips serving 1,000 passengers per day and buses on Route No. 100 from Củ Chi coach station to Tân Thái Bridge in Củ Chi District with 124 trips per day.

The replacement of old buses will help improve the bus service and increase the number of bus commuters, according to Phúc.

The number of bus commuters in the city plunged from 411.2 million passengers in 2013 to 334.5 million passengers in 2015.

The city has around 3,000 buses, most of which have been operating for 10-15 years.

In 2014, the city’s People’s Committee approved replacing 1,680 old buses with new ones by 2017, including 300 buses running on compressed natural gas (CNG). — VNS