Vietnam Building Rapid Bus System in Ho Chi Minh City
2020-03-15
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1Ho Chi Minh City is building a bus rapid transport system in hopes of making public travel simpler.
2Vietnamese people have many transportation choices.
3They use personal cars, and visitors to the country might pay for a bicycle-based vehicle.
4The company GoDee offers a car transport service, similar to Uber.
5GoDee also offers people a low-cost way to share a ride in bigger vehicles like vans.
6The Vietnamese government wants people to use more public transportation.
7However, building projects for underground train systems in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City have had repeated delays.
8Traditional buses are slow and unpredictable.
9The new bus system for Ho Chi Minh City would create special lanes for electric bus use only.
10The buses are expected to save time by limiting traffic and operating more often than traditional buses.
11Vietnamese officials say the new system would reduce traffic and pollution.
12They did not say when it might open, however.
13The new system is expected to cost about $137 million.
14Some observers say they are not sure the city can support that cost.
15Switzerland is helping to pay part of the project's cost.
16"The project will demonstrate considerable economic, environmental and social benefits," said Ivo Sieber, Switzerland's ambassador-designate to Vietnam.
17City planners around the world are trying to improve public transportation to reduce traffic and pollution while staying within a budget.
18Shanghai, China and Singapore have tried "on-demand buses," for example.
19The system lets riders use an app on their phone to communicate their transport needs.
20Then a travel path is created to transport as many people as possible most efficiently.
21New, small technology companies have begun to enter the field, increasing data collection.
22City planners use the data to examine traffic patterns and choose the best transportation methods.
23Uber, when it operated in Vietnam, said it would work with city planners to examine this kind of data.
24Grab bought Uber's Vietnam business in 2018.
25Critics say that business has worsened traffic in Vietnam and other places because more people are hiring private rides instead of taking public transportation.
26The World Bank also is helping to pay for the new bus rapid transport system in Ho Chi Minh City.
27In a press release, the World Bank office in Hanoi said the system would improve movement around the city, giving riders more choices.
28This includes mixing rapid and traditional buses, private rides and an underground train, or subway.
29Last year, the city's population was reported to be almost 9 million.
30That is an increase of 1.8 million since 2009.
31However, the number of city roads has not changed.
32City officials have not given details on how they will spend the $137 million.
33But they say it will be used to buy electric buses and to build bus-only lanes that will include street lights and cameras.
34The money also will be used to train transportation officials.
35I'm Caty Weaver.
1Ho Chi Minh City is building a bus rapid transport system in hopes of making public travel simpler. 2Vietnamese people have many transportation choices. They use personal cars, and visitors to the country might pay for a bicycle-based vehicle. The company GoDee offers a car transport service, similar to Uber. GoDee also offers people a low-cost way to share a ride in bigger vehicles like vans. 3The Vietnamese government wants people to use more public transportation. However, building projects for underground train systems in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City have had repeated delays. Traditional buses are slow and unpredictable. 4The new bus system for Ho Chi Minh City would create special lanes for electric bus use only. The buses are expected to save time by limiting traffic and operating more often than traditional buses. Vietnamese officials say the new system would reduce traffic and pollution. They did not say when it might open, however. 5The new system is expected to cost about $137 million. Some observers say they are not sure the city can support that cost. 6Switzerland is helping to pay part of the project's cost. "The project will demonstrate considerable economic, environmental and social benefits," said Ivo Sieber, Switzerland's ambassador-designate to Vietnam. 7Tech and public transport 8City planners around the world are trying to improve public transportation to reduce traffic and pollution while staying within a budget. Shanghai, China and Singapore have tried "on-demand buses," for example. The system lets riders use an app on their phone to communicate their transport needs. Then a travel path is created to transport as many people as possible most efficiently. 9New, small technology companies have begun to enter the field, increasing data collection. City planners use the data to examine traffic patterns and choose the best transportation methods. 10Uber, when it operated in Vietnam, said it would work with city planners to examine this kind of data. Grab bought Uber's Vietnam business in 2018. Critics say that business has worsened traffic in Vietnam and other places because more people are hiring private rides instead of taking public transportation. 11The World Bank also is helping to pay for the new bus rapid transport system in Ho Chi Minh City. In a press release, the World Bank office in Hanoi said the system would improve movement around the city, giving riders more choices. This includes mixing rapid and traditional buses, private rides and an underground train, or subway. 12Last year, the city's population was reported to be almost 9 million. That is an increase of 1.8 million since 2009. However, the number of city roads has not changed. 13City officials have not given details on how they will spend the $137 million. But they say it will be used to buy electric buses and to build bus-only lanes that will include street lights and cameras. The money also will be used to train transportation officials. 14I'm Caty Weaver. 15VOA News reported this story. Caty Weaver adapted it for Learning English. Mario Ritter, Jr. was the editor. 16________________________________________________________________ 17Words in This Story 18rapid -adj. moving quickly 19lane -n. a part of a road that is marked and meant for a single line of vehicles 20benefit -n. a good result 21pattern -n. something that happens in a regular, repeated or natural way 22We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page.