HCM City (VNS/VNA) - Nine of 13 bus enterprises and co-ops in Ho Chi Minh Cityhave asked for a reduction of bus trips on several lines as theirsubsidies are lower than bus owners’ expenditures.

The petitions havebeen sent to the municipal People’s Council and People's Committee, andrelevant departments and agencies. 

In an effort to increaseprofits, bus firms have sought to reduce or suspend a number of bustrips with few passengers.

Nguyen Van Trieu,chairman of 19 May Bus Co-op, said that state subsidies for HCM City busservices this year amounted to 1 trillion VND (nearly 43 million USD), thesame level as 2018.

Trieu said the19 May BusCo-op suffered losses of nearly 18 billion VND (approx. 772,000 USD) last year.

With such a level ofstate subsidies, bus firms and co-ops will continue to encounterdifficulties, and some could face bankruptcy.

According to members ofthe Dong Nam Bus Co-op, the Centre for Public Transportation Managementunder HCM City’s Department of Transportation has set a growth rateof 10.67 percent for bus services.

They said the increasein bus ticket prices was not enough to make up for the drop insubsidies

“We must struggle tomaintain our services with loans from banks and other sources,” said a memberof Dong Nam Bus Co-op, who declined to be named.

Despite state subsidies,the number of bus passengers have decreased year after year. Buses have tostart their trips on schedule even with a small number of passengers.

Meanwhile, bus ticketfares remain low to attract passengers.

Without state subsidies,bus enterprises and co-ops would have to raise bus fares.

However, Tran Trong Thao,director of the Dong Nam Bus Co-op, said higher bus ticket fareswould put an end to the city’s bus services as the number ofpassengers would decline.

He said motorbike serviceshave set prices of only 5,000 VND for less than an 8km trip, compared withthe 6,000 VND bus fare for the same trip.

“Motorbikes also providemore convenient services,” Thao said.

Trieu of 19 May BusCo-op said that many students who took the co-op’s buses to school at theNational University Campus in Thu Duc district have turned to riding ordriving motorbikes.

“Many of them evenuse their motorbikes for Grab and Go-Viet motorbike services, andcompete with bus services,” said Trieu.

Le Trung Tinh, ex-chiefof the Transportation Management Division at the city's TransportationDepartment, said the number of passengers using bus services had droppedbecause city bus services had become worse.

“There is no speciallane for buses on the city’s streets which suffer traffic jams inpeak hours and cannot provide timely or punctual services to passengers,”said Tinh.

Bus services must beimproved, and bus firms and coops must provide higher-quality services topassengers, Tinh said.

“To reach these targets,investments are required for not only new buses but alsofor infrastructure,” he added.-VNS/VNA