Hanoi chairman Tran Sy Thanh and some officials take an electric bus on its launching day on January 17.
On the same day, the Bao Yen Tourism and Construction Services Company also launched the 59 bus route using electric vehicles.
Hanoi's Public Transport Management Centre (Tramoc) said the moves followed the city's decision on a green and digital transition for sustainable development.
According to Tramoc, 11 small electric buses will be used for Route 5 (Mai Dong-Phu Dien), 17 medium-sized vehicles for Route 39 (Nghia Do Park-Tu Hiep), 20 medium-sized buses for Route 47 (Long Bien-Bat Trang), and 20 medium-sized buses for Route 59.
With these four newly launched routes, Hanoi now has 14 bus routes using electric vehicles, including 10 operated by Vingroup. The city still has 150 routes using diesel vehicles.
Transerco said that the transition will be carried out in steps to ensure proper operations for its partners. The company also urged the Hanoi People's Committee to approve a financial support programme for their transition project.
Speaking at a recent meeting, Hanoi People's Committee vice chairman Nguyen Manh Quyen stressed that the transition to electric vehicles will be given priority and all enterprises operating in public transportation should start using green energy for their fleets from this year.
Hanoi aims for a mix of electric buses (50 percent) and buses powered by cleaner burning fuels like liquefied natural gas (LNG) or compressed natural gas (CNG) (50 percent) between 2026 and 2030. The estimated financial investment for this transition is VND43 trillion (USD1.79 billion).
The plan prioritises electrifying buses operating in central urban areas (within Ring Road 4). New bus routes will also be designed to use electric and green energy vehicles.
By 2030, a significant portion (70-90 percent) of the existing diesel bus fleet will be replaced with clean-energy buses.
Transerco conducted over 3.40 million trips, transporting over 234 million passengers, or 58 percent of the city's total passenger transportation volume 2024.