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HCM City has bought 2,000 new buses as part of a US$72 million project to improve the regional transport system. — VNA/VNS Photo Huy Hung |
The HCM City Transport Cooperative Association has recorded that as many as 70 per cent of buses operating in the city are in poor condition and in need of repairs.
"We hear quite often a lot of complaints about the bus service from passengers," said a bus driver at the Ben Thanh Bus Station in District 1 who wished to remain unnamed.
"The air conditioners on buses usually do not work properly and passengers are not allowed to open the window, which makes it very hot and stuffy inside," said Nguyen Phuong Nga, a commuter on the An Suong – An Nhon Tay route in District 12.
"Many buses whose engines are too old and outdated make terrible sounds when travelling, especially when they stop suddenly for picking passengers. It scares me when I travel by bus," said To Nhu Hoa, a passenger on the route from Ben Thanh Market to the Tan Son Nhat Airport.
On many buses, the seats are ragged, the flooring is torn, and many stairs are rusty and broken, said another passenger on the same route.
Buses on other routes like Ben Thanh – RMIT University, Ben Thanh – An Suong, and An Suong – Hau Nghia are also in poor condition, according to the HCM City Transport Cooperative Association.
Many drivers said most buses put into operation since 2002 have not been repaired or upgraded for a long time.
Shortage of subsidies
Van Cong Diem, deputy director of the Centre for Management and Operation of Public Passenger Transport, said most operators have claimed they couldn't afford to repair or improve the condition of the buses because of the limited subsidy they receive from the city government, although it has been increasing since 2002.
Phung Dang Hai, director of HCM City Transport Cooperative Union, explained that the prices of most spare parts used for repairing or upgrading buses, 80 per cent of which are imported, have been soaring.
The subsidies for bus services granted by the city government has steadily increased from VND39 billion (US$1.95 million) in 2002 up to VND486 billion ($24.3 million) in 2006.
This year, the city has provided VND700 billion ($35 million) in subsidies for its bus service, an increase of VND100 billion ($5 million) over last year, but even this is not enough, the operators said.
Bus companies are still waiting for additional subsidies they had requested in 2009 to meet expenses, but so far had received just half of that amount, Hai said.
Therefore, the companies lacked capital to repair and upgrade the buses, he added.
The HCM City People's Committee has asked the Centre for Management and Operation of Public Passenger Transport to submit an auditor's report on the use of the subsidy in 2009 to the Department of Transport.
The Department of Transport will consider the report before submitting it to the Department of Justice and the city People's Committee before granting the additional subsidy, officials have said.
The public transport centre has said it is fulfilling necessary procedures to receive the additional subsidy in 2010, taking into account all factors like inflation and rising prices of imported spare parts.
According to the Department of Transport, there are around 3,200 buses plying more than 160 routes in the city, of which 112 routes are subsidised by the city government. — VNS
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