The first buses in Viet Nam using energy-efficient fuel made their debut yesterday in HCM City, marking a breakthrough in the city’s effort to develop environmentally friendly transport.
Twenty-one buses, which operate on compressed natural gas (CNG), are being used on one of the busiest stretches connecting downtown in District 1 and the Binh Tay market in District 5.
The green buses, commissioned by State-run Sai Gon Bus Company, were initially planned to be put on public routes on August 19.
The new buses were purchased as part of the city’s drive to reduce air pollution, according to Le Trung Tinh, head of transport management for the city’s Department of Transport.
Using CNG can save around 50 per cent of fuel costs as compared to petrol and reduce hydrocarbon emissions by 35 per cent, oxide by 62 per cent, and carbon dioxide by 9 per cent, according to an official from South Korea’s Ministry of Environment, who spoke at a recent seminar held in HCM City on the development of CNG for transport vehicles.
The head of HCM City University of Techno-logy’s Transport Engineering, Pham Xuan Mai, said the CNG would save more than US$8.30 compared to the price of diesel.
CNG costs $318 per tonne, which is 53.5 per cent of the price of petrol and 42 per cent of diesel.
The city estimates that 10,000 buses run by CNG would save the city more than $83 million each year, according to Mai, adding that the buses not only reduce pollution but also improve the economy.
More than three years ago, the city began to replace buses using fossil fuels with those using CNG, Sai Gon Giai Phong (Liberated Sai Gon) daily quoted Duong Hong Thanh, vice director of the HCM City Transport Department, as saying.
Two CNG-powered buses, one operated by Sai Gon Bus and the other by a private company, HCM City Transport Co-operatives Union, were tested beginning in May last year.
State-run company Sai Gon Bus won approval to take part in the city’s new bus system that will replace petrol with an energy-efficient fuel.
In five years, the city plans to have 1,680 CNG-fuelled buses. To accommodate the narrow streets of the city, the buses are also designed to be smaller than the ones currently in use.
The city has been improving the quality of bus service and facilities to attract more people to public transport, said Le Hai Phong, director of the city’s Public Transport Management Centre.
An additional 240 bus stations will be built by the end of the year, Phong said, and 54 bus information stations will be put into operation.
“These stations are part of the city’s effort to make the bus system more convenient and friendly to people.”
