[sustran] [sustran] Vietnam Buses

[Craig Townsend]

[vnforum] - Mesg from VNLink at aol.com

Vietnam Transport Ministry to Scrap 20,000 Dangerous Old Buses

HANOI, March 15 Asia Pulse - The Ministry of Transport has decided to
gradually replace or refurbish dilapidated passenger buses to meet
technical and safety requirements.

Transport officials estimate 20,000 inter-provincial and inner city
passenger buses should be replaced or upgraded.

This year alone, up to 3,400 assorted passenger buses need to be replaced
with new vehicles.

They said the demand for travelling by inter-provincial passenger buses is
increasing, but the bus transport sector meets only 15 per cent of the
demand. This compares to 50 per cent in developed countries.
The capital city of Hanoi, with a population of 2.4 million, has only 490
passenger buses that have more than 30 seats, representing 0.22 vehicles
for every 1,000 residents.

Worse still, up to 30 per cent of the city's buses are badly in need of
repair.

Trucks from the former Democratic Republic of Germany that have been
converted into poor quality buses make up 70 per cent of the State-run
transport sector. An increasing number are involved in road accidents.

Ho Chi Minh City traffic police said 80 per cent of the city's buses are
more than 10 years old. The public transport system is poor because of a
lack of modern vehicles, inconvenient itineraries for Government employees
and workers and little punctuality.

The public transport networks in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City meet only four
percent of the demand. More than 90 per cent of people travel by motorbike.

To supplement the current stock of passenger buses, the Engineering
Communications and Transport Corporation is planning a US$63.9 million
project to assemble coaches and passenger buses locally. 

ASIA PULSE 

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________________________________________________
Craig Townsend
Institute for Sustainability & Technology Policy
Murdoch University
South Street, Murdoch
Perth, Western Australia 6150

tel: (61 8) 9360 6293
fax: (61 8) 9360 6421
email: townsend at central.murdoch.edu.au