Electric buses for HCM City’s ‘backpacker area’

The Department of Transport has asked competent agencies to add a neighborhood covering Bui Vien, Pham Ngu Lao and De Tham Streets in District 1’s  Pham Ngu Lao Ward to the proposed route of the first electric bus service that will be offered in the near future. 

Local residents usually call this area the “Westerner’s zone” or “backpacker area” as it has long been home to a community of foreigners who visit the city.

The department also asked relevant agencies to adjust the proposed electric bus route so that it will not affect the current construction site of urban railway line No. 1 on Le Loi Street in District 1.

Last month, the department ordered its road management office to coordinate with the city’s road and railway traffic police, the People’s Committees of District 1 and 3, and other bodies to conduct a fact-finding survey on the proposed electric route that covers many streets in the downtown region, including Le Loi, Nguyen Hue, Le Duan, Nguyen Du, and Thai Van Lung Streets.

The electric bus line, which is environmentally friendly, will mainly serve tourists around the city’s attractions, such as Ben Thanh Market, the Saigon Zoo and Botanical Garden, the Reunification Palace, and some others, according to the department.