According to Nguyen Thi Da Thao, director of HCM City’s Public Transport Management Centre, besides Metro Line 1 (Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien), 138 bus routes with a total of 2,200 busses in HCM City serve around 350,000 passengers each day.
Passengers on Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien metro route (Photo by Trinh Nguyen)
However, bus fares are still paid manually in cash, and passengers have yet to embrace automated payment methods. This hinders integrated fare policies and reduces operational flexibility to meet growing travel needs. So, the application of cashless payment solutions in public transport is among the city’s key priorities.
To date, the electronic ticketing system has been implemented on Metro Line 1 and 514 buses across 29 of the city's 108 subsidised routes, using the EMV Open Loop payment model for public transport. By May, the number of buses using this system is expected to increase to 2,000. In addition, passengers can still pay with cards, paper tickets, or cash as usual.
Thao added that the city has set a goal to fully implement electronic payments across its public transport network by the second quarter of this year. The e-ticketing system is being deployed in a unified manner, with onboard devices and AFC software working together to ensure compatibility and enable integrated fare policies across buses, Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), metro, public bicycles, and river buses.
In the near future, the HCM City Transport Department will announce a plan to encourage greater use of public transport. To promote cashless payments, the agency will work with partners to offer incentives such as free metro rides on Mondays, free public bike access on Thursdays, and free bus travel on Fridays.
