(Engineering Daily) Nguyen Anh Duong = Ho Chi Minh City has spent $21.3 million in public bus subsidies over the past 8months.
Ho Chi Minh City said 3,000 buses are currently operating on 200 routes, 50% of its revenue from 110 of which is subsidized.
Despite the ministry`s rate increase in May, the effect has not yet been shown, while the increase in personal transportation has been counterproductive.
In May, the Transport Ministry also released a survey that found that the transportation sharing rate was only 10.7% when commuting to and from work, as many of Ho Chi Minh City's citizens used personal transportation such as motorcycles.
Last year, about seven routes were abolished due to worsening profitability.
Therefore, attention is being paid to what solutions the Vietnamese government authorities will come up with to address the ever-increasing subsidy issue both inside and outside the industry.
