What do you think about hopping in on a bicycle while exploring Ho Chi Minh? Prepare for one of the most laid back ways to explore Vietnam! Recently, the Transportation Department suggested an enhanced bike sharing scheme with 43 stations and 400 available bikes in the downtown area of Ho Chi Minh.
According to the department’s proposal to the People’s Committee, each station will be strategically placed near bus stations at Districts 1 and 3. The city government is also researching the possibility of creating a priority lane for buses in District 3.
The stations would have an average 20-30 square meter area and will host 20-30 bikes wherein any users can unlock through the ‘mobike’ app available on smartphones. Anyone with the app can also use it to locate the nearest station to their convenience.
The users can set up an account and top up using their online payments cards or bank cards. For 30 minutes of bike usage, users will only need to pay 5,000 VND (approximately 0.22 US cents). The transportation department also said that the bike sharing scheme can also provide the users to connect with other forms of public transportation like buses.
Ideally, the project will attract private sector funds to assist in alleviating the city’s transportation system. The department had several proposals prior to the bike scheme over the last few years but to no avail – the proposals didn’t reach the implementation stage.
