In the proposal sent on Wednesday to the municipal people's committee, the department said that all six bus routes receive subsidies of over 95 percent from the government.
"We can save some VND 212.23 billion a year after cutting the 10, 14, 18, 44, 45, and 145 routes," the department said, adding that they would adjust some other routes so as not to affect the public."
Statistics from the department showed that the city provided subsidies of nearly VND 3 trillion for public bus services in 2022, which was over VND670 billion higher than the average subsidies for the 2020-2022 period.
Explaining the rise in subsidies, the department said that the service faced lower revenues during the Covid-19 pandemic and the construction of some major transport projects which led to the adjustment of some routes.
The department is considering adjusting the operation of 71 out of 132 bus routes in the city.
The department has also proposed to the municipal people's committee to allow the pilot use of electric buses for a one-year period on nine existing bus routes whose contracts are set to expire by March this year.
As scheduled, as many as 68 bus routes in Hanoi will have their contracts expire and will need to be replaced by electric buses in 2025.