The Economic and Budget Committee of the HCM City People's Council on November 5 inspected the implementation of Resolution 09/2026/NQ-HDND, which provides a 100 per cent bus fare subsidy.
The review will assess the scheme's performance from July to October before the current policy expires on December 31.
Nguyen Cong Danh, head of the committee, asked the Department of Construction to work with the Department of Finance and the Public Transport Management Centre on a comprehensive assessment and proposals for 2027.
Officials were instructed to evaluate the subsidy scheme's effectiveness using operational data collected over the past four months.
According to the Department of Construction, buses covered by the scheme carried more than 43 million passenger journeys during the period.
October alone recorded over 13 million journeys, up 44 per cent year on year. The on-time departure rate reached 97.2 per cent, exceeding the 95 per cent target.
Since October, subsidy payments have been calculated based on passenger journeys verified through the electronic ticketing system, rather than the number of completed bus trips, within approved funding limits.
The city has allocated VND 630 billion (USD 24.1 million) to the scheme for the second half of 2026, with more than VND 492 billion budgeted for 134 bus routes under approved cost estimates.
Actual expenditure will be determined following verification and financial settlement.
The inspection team called for tighter passenger data management, checks on unverified journeys and cross-referencing of electronic ticketing records with surveillance cameras and vehicle tracking systems.
Officials were also asked to assess how many passengers had switched from private vehicles to buses.
The findings will be submitted to the People's Council leadership for consideration of the next subsidy policy.
The Department of Construction has already sought feedback on a draft resolution governing public transport development, expected to take effect on January 1, 2027.
Unlike the current blanket free-fare scheme, the proposed framework would introduce a longer-term, more targeted subsidy policy.