The Hà Nội Traffic Police have yet to impose any fines despite many road users having been recorded driving in the lanes reserved for the bus rapid transit (BRT) system over their first few days of operation.— Photo bizlive.vn

HÀ NỘI — The Hà Nội Traffic Police have yet to impose any fines despite many road users having been recorded driving in the lanes reserved for the bus rapid transit (BRT) system over their first few days of operation.

Nguyễn Hoàng Hải, director of Hà Nội Public Transport Management and Operation Centre, said during the first stage of the BRT’s operation, traffic police were only issuing warnings to road users, asking them to stay in their lanes and not encroach on the lane designed for the BRT.

“Because it will take time for road users to change their driving habits,” he said.

If traffic jams and encroachment of the BRT lane still occur over the coming days, the centre would assign more traffic police to prevent violations as well as ensure traffic runs smoothly, he added.

The centre was now handing over traffic cameras to traffic police officers before they imposed administrative fines for violators, he said.

Yesterday, a pane of glass on the right side of a BRT bus was reportedly broken after being hit by a four-seater car.

The incident occurred when the bus was at the Giảng Võ – Láng Hạ Intersection and the car encroached on the BRT lane. The car’s mirror hit the bus’ right side and caused the damage.

The car driver, with registration plate 30S-8868, escaped after the crash. The bus driver carried passengers to the last stop and took the bus for repairs. Transerco replaced the bus on the route while the damaged vehicle was repaired.

Trần Đăng Hải, deputy chief inspector of the Hà Nội Transport Department spoke to the Lao Động (Labour) newspaper, saying that because no fines were being imposed during the first days operating the BRT, traffic inspection teams were working hard to separate lanes and make traffic run smoothly.

The first BRT was officially put into operation on January 1^st, with the 14-km route stretching along the streets of Ba La, Quang Trung, Lê Trọng Tấn, Tố Hữu, Lê Văn Lương, Láng Hạ, Giảng Võ, Giang Văn Minh and Cát Linh. It is designed to complete the route within 30-45 minutes.

Under the Government’s decree No 46/NĐ-CP, issued last year, a motorbike driver will receive a fine of VNĐ300,000-400,000 (US$13-17) if intentionally driving in the BRT lane. The fine is set at VNĐ800,000-1.2 million ($35-52) for a car driver making the same violation.

Passengers on the rise

Data from the Hà Nội Transport Services Corporation (Transerco) showed that the number of passengers choosing to travel by BRT is on the increase.

There were 10,400 passengers travelling by BRT on January 2, about 2,100 passengers higher than on the first day of operation.

The number of BRT passengers on January3 was estimated to be higher, although official data is yet to be revealed, a representative of the corporation said.

Lê Mỹ Hoa, of Thái Hà Street, said she used the BRT to go to her office and thought it was more convenient than driving a motorbike.

Nguyễn Tuyên Hòa, of Nguyễn Thị Định Street, said travelling by BRT was both convenient and clean.— VNS