The inter-provincial buses on the road after the launching ceremony. — VNA/VNS Photo Tiến Lực

HCM CITY — A new inter-provincial bus route connecting HCM City and the provinces of Long An and Tiền Giang officially opened on Wednesday.

The bus route, No 63-1, was established by the collaboration of three transport departments in the localities involved, and is operated by Phương Trang Transport and Tourism JSC company (Futa Bus Lines).

The route starts from Tân Phú Bus Station in HCM City’s Tân Phú District, runs through Long An Province, and stops at Tiền Giang Bus Station in Tiền Giang Province’s Mỹ Tho City.

It has 54 bus trips per day, operating between 5am and 6pm daily.

It takes about 150 minutes for the whole 85km-long route.

Bus ticket prices are from VNĐ12,000-70,000 (US$0.5-3) per trip, depending on the distance of travelling. Subsidised tickets for students are only VNĐ7,000 ($0.3) per trip on intra-provincial travel.

The buses running on this route are allowed to pick up and drop-off passengers at all existing public bus stops in HCM City and Tiền Giang.

In Long An, they are only allowed to pick or drop off passengers at Vĩnh Lộc 2 Industrial Park, Bến Lức Economic and Technical Intermediate School, Bến Lức Market, the crossroads on the bypass around Tân An city and Long An Pedagogical College.

Đào Viết Ánh, general director of Futa Bus Lines, said the company is committed to provide the best service to customers, and contribute to the development of public transport.

“We firmly believe that people will love public transport in the coming time," he said.

Each bus has 14 seats and six passenger standing spaces, with a camera, GPS, wifi and a point-of-sale (POS) machine for selling tickets on the bus.

With a modern equipped bus line, the bus route is expected to attract passengers, contributing to reduce individual vehicles and traffic jams, and connecting neighbouring provinces, Trần Quang Lâm, director of HCM City’s Department of Transport, said.

The city is working to implement its ten-year project costing nearly VNĐ400 trillion ($17.3 billion) to improve access to public transport and limit the use of personal vehicles.

The focus will be on developing the bus network, including enhancing inter-provincial connectivity.

A new bus route running through HCM City and the provinces of Long An and Tiền Giang launched on August 10. — VNA/VNS Photo Mạnh Linh

The city’s public transport is expected to meet 15 per cent of local residents’ travel demand by 2025, and 25 per cent by 2030.

Fifty to 60 new bus routes will be opened by 2025 and 50-75 by 2030, while the number of buses will double from the present.

Priority will be given to vehicles that use clean and environment-friendly fuels such as CNG, LPG and electricity.

The quality of human resources operating buses will be improved and the management and operation of public transport systems will be modernised. — VNS