Hanoi introduces new suburban bus routes

They include bus route No. 87 starting from My Đinh Coach Station in Cau Giay District, through Quoc Oai District, to Xuan Mai Town in Chuong My District, and bus route No. 88 from My Đinh station, through Hòa Lạc District, to Xuan Mai Town.

This is part of the city’s plan to extend bus services to suburban districts in the west and southwestern parts of Hanoi, which still lack access to buses, with the aim of boosting socio-economic development in these rural areas while reducing traffic jams in the centre of the capital city.

Two new bus routes linking downtown Hanoi with Quoc Oai, Chuong My suburban districts officially launched. – Photo vietnamplus.vn

Tickets cost VNĐ9,000 (40 US cents) per leg and the buses are scheduled to travel from 5am to 7.45pm every day.

Passengers can access free wi-fi on these buses. Transerco Deputy Director General Nguyen Cong Nhat said the new bus routes will help locals in rural areas have better access to bus services with high quality and low price. Until now, they primarily travelled by coaches.

As planned, the capital’s bus network will be extended to a large number of suburban districts, including Ba Vi, Quoc Oai, My Đuc and Thach That, between now and 2020.

Transerco will overhaul service quality, with some 2,000 bus stations being upgraded.

Room for bus service expansion in Hanoi remains extensive, as it currently caters to only 15 per cent of local demand, which could increase to 50 per cent in the future.