HCM City is considering the use of electric buses for its BRT line No. 1. Photo courtesy of tuoitre.vn

HCM CITY — The city is researching the feasibility of using electric buses for the bus rapid transit (BRT) route No. 1, says the municipal transport department. 

The department held a seminar on Wednesday to discuss this option in depth under the city’s green traffic development project.

Department director Trần Quang Lâm said that HCM City would launch six BRT routes with a total length of about 100km.

By 2025, the city would expand its bus network from 126 routes with 2,100 buses to 260 routes with 3,000 buses.

Over the past 10 years, the city has had many buses using compressed natural gas (CNG), which currently accounts for about 20 per cent of the total number of vehicles in operation. 

To meet its sustainable growth targets from now until 2030, it would be necessary to determine appropriate vehicles for the BRT route as well as the city's public transportation system in general, Lâm said.

HCM City’s green traffic development project, funded by the World Bank (WB), involves the construction of a 23km long BRT main corridor. The corridor will run from An Lạc in Bình Tân District to Rạch Chiếc in Thủ Đức City. 

The transport department said it would consult scientists and WB experts and advise the city People's Committee on selecting vehicles for this project.

According to Shige Sakaki, a WB expert in coordinating traffic programmes in Việt Nam, the BRT No. 1 project initially planned to use CNG buses to operate on the route. Now, electric buses had become a viable option as could be seen in many countries, he said. — VNS