HCMC to applie three models of transportation after social distancing eases

The People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City has just approved the municipal Transport Department plan on transporting workers to Ho Chi Minh City as the city, the largest COVID-19 hotspot of Vietnam, began gradually resuming economic activities from October 1.

Many workers at enterprises in Ho Chi Minh City have returned to their home towns during the prolonged social distancing period in the city, hence the need to bring them back. HCMC to applie three models of transportation after social distancing eases.

Accordingly, three modes of transportation will be applied in two stages. The first mode is that the employers will arrange the transportation of  their workers by themselves using over-10-seater vehicles with QR-coded business registration certificates issued by the transport department.

The vehicles will take workers to the Eastern or Western Bus Stations, then the workers will move from the bus stations to their place of residence by taxi licensed by the department or by the vehicles registered by their enterprises.

In the second mode, the Management Boards of Export Processing Zones, Industrial and Hi-Tech Parks will be responsible for coordinating with passenger transport units to make transportation plans, and the Department of Transport will consider and issue identification certifications with QR codes and report the transportation plans to the provinces and cities where the workers will depart from. The vehicles can only stop at places registered in the plan.

The third mode is to organise fixed passenger transport routes from intercity bus stations of provinces and cities where the workers will depart to the Eastern and Western Bus Stations, with a maximum frequency of four trips per day per route.

The first phase will be implemented from October 1 to October 31, with the first and second modes to be applied. Meanwhile, the third mode will be added to the second stage (from November).

Before boarding vehicles to return to HCM city, workers are requested to provide a certificate of negative test result for SARS-CoV-2 within 72 hours, and a certificate of having received at least one dose of vaccine for at least 14 days or a certificate of recovering from COVID-19 issued by a competent authority.

The municipal People’s Committee has sent a document to provinces and centrally-run cities, requesting them to create favourable conditions for workers to travel to HCM City.