The new Bến Xe Miền Đông (Eastern Bus Station) in HCM City was officially put into operation on October 10. VNA/VNS Photo Tiến Lực

 HCM CITY — In addition to new upgrades to Miền Đông Bus Station, the quality of major bus station systems in HCM City has improved in recent years.

The Miền Đông Bus Station, located on Đinh Bộ Lĩnh Street in Bình Thạnh District, has remained one of the most prominent stations in HCM City with constant service improvement.

In November 2018, the Miền Đông Bus Station upgraded the wifi network to serve 20,000 users from the previous 600, and installed survey devices at numerous spots to gather feedback from passengers.

A programme on noise minimisation was carried out on all vehicles operating at Miền Đông Bus Station, Nguyễn Cao Phú, station representative, said, adding that noise from vehicles’ horns fell by 95 per cent after the programme.

At the beginning of 2019, Miền Đông Bus Station began using modern management software in an effort to efficiently manage vehicles passing in and out of the station.

The programme “Modern Bus Station”, in which a chip is attached to vehicles operating on fixed routes, shortens the waiting time of these vehicles at the main gate. This has been especially useful during peak periods such as the Tết (Lunar New Year) holiday when the number of vehicles entering and leaving the station is higher than usual.

In July 2019, the Miền Đông Bus Station installed an automatic car washer system with advanced technology for vehicles entering gate No 1. In the following month, the station began encouraging locals to limit the use of plastic and replace plastic water bottles with hot-and-cold bottles and paper cups.

Phú said the station would further improve its service. Promoting the use of clean energy such as solar energy has been the station’s main focus. 

Meanwhile, the station is preparing to launch an automatic ticketing system that provides passengers with an online platform to purchase tickets in advance.

Ngã Tư Ga Bus Station is also using a management system for vehicle control and ticket sales, following the ISO 9001: 2008 standard.

Prior to carrying out this programme, Ngã tư Ga Bus Station managed these processes manually.

“We decided to take advantage of modern software and information technology to control the flow of vehicles,” a representative of the Ngã Tư Ga Bus Station said.

The ISO 9001: 2008 management system has made everything easier, and there is no longer a mismatch between the number of passengers buying tickets and the actual number of passengers on the bus. 

Recently, the Saigon Transportation Mechanical Corporation (SAMCO) organised an event on Miền Tây Bus Station’s expansion of a parking garage for two-wheeled vehicles.

The project has a total construction area of nearly 2,000 square metres, worth nearly VNĐ8.2 billion. It aims to improve the quality of passenger service at Miền Tây Bus Station and meet parking needs, which is in line with the master plan for the bus station. — VNS