A bus running on Route No. 152 at the pick-up and drop-off area at Tân Sơn Nhất International Airport in HCM City. — VNA/VNS Photo Hồng Đạt

HCM CITY — Fourteen more bus routes connecting HCM City's Tân Sơn Nhất International Airport will be put into operation this year, according to the city’s Department of Transport.

The work is expected to meet travel needs and ease current congestion, which often occurs in the pickup and drop-off areas in front of the airport’s domestic terminal.

The new routes are being carried out by Hải Vân International Transportation Joint Venture Company’s HCM City Branch.

In November 2022, the company, which is based in northern Hải Dương Province, proposed to open new bus routes connecting the airport with urban areas and bus stations.

It is currently doing administrative procedures relating to pick-up and drop-off stops along the routes to submit to the Department of Transport for approval of the implementation of the work on the 49th anniversary of South Việt Nam's Liberation and National Reunification Day (April 30).

Accordingly, there will be about 30 pick-up and drop-off stops along the route. The end points will be at urban areas, residential areas, hotels and tourist attractions to help people to easily access the buses.

Aiming to improve service quality and free up space for luggage, vehicles operating on the routes will have 16 seats. Each bus route will have 12 vehicles operating 24/7.

Four out of the company’s 14 proposed routes will connect the airport and the new Miền Đông (Eastern) Bus Station in Thủ Đức City.

Two routes will go to Miền Tây (Western) Bus Station in Bình Tân District.

Two others will connect to Phú Mỹ Hưng urban area in District 7 and Trung Sơn Residential Area in Bình Chánh District.

The remaining routes will connect the airport to Trung Sơn Residential Area and Nguyễn Văn Linh Boulevard in District 7; Phú Định Resettlement Area in District 8; Phú Long Bridge in District 12; Hóc Môn Market in Hóc Môn District; Dương Hồng - Mizuki Residential Area and Vinhomes Central Park Urban Area in Bình Chánh District; and Thảo Điền Ward and Kim Cương (Diamond) Island in Thủ Đức city.

These new routes will contribute to meeting the increasing travel demand of passengers, especially during peak time, and create more selections for tourists to move to destinations and bus stations during festivals.

About eight km from the city centre, the airport in Tân Bình District is the city’s major transport hub. It serves about 120,000 passengers every day, so the number of vehicles picking up passengers at the airport is very high.

There are only four bus routes running to the airport, including route No. 103 connecting to chợ Lớn Bus Station in Gò Vấp District, route No.109 connecting to Sài Gòn Bus Station in District 1, route No.152 going to Bình Chánh District, and route No.72-1 leading to the southern province of Bà Rịa-Vũng Tàu. — VNS