Local bus fares go up

Under a decision by the Ha Noi People's Committee, bus fares for trips under 15 km will rise from VND7,000 to VND8,000 VND each. The fare for distances between 15 km and under 25 km will increase from VND7,000 to VND10,000.

Meanwhile, the ticket price will rise from VND8,000 to VND12,000 for each trip covering distances from 25 km to under 30 km. For distances between 30 and 40 km, the fare will increase from VND9,000 to VND15,000 per trip. The most significant increase will be from VND9,000 to VND20,000 for trips of 40 km and above.

Monthly tickets for prioritized groups, including students, university and college students, vocational students, and workers in industrial zones, will be raised to VND70,000 for a single ticket from the current VND55,000 and VND140,000 for a multi-route ticket from the current VND100,000.

Non-prioritized groups will be charged VND140,000 for a monthly single-route ticket, an increase from the current VND100,000, and VND280,000 for a multi-route ticket, up from the current VND 200,000.

Bus ticket exemptions will continue for groups such as policy beneficiaries and people aged 60 and above, children under six years old, and households classified as poor.

According to the Ha Noi Department of Transport, the city has kept bus fares unchanged since 2014, and operations costs have increased by 50 percent.

The city spends VND2.3 trillion a year to subsidize fares.

Ha Noi is home to 132 subsidized bus routes. During the 2015-2019, Ha Noi subsidized buses around VND1.37 trillion per year. The figure increased to VND2.2 trillion annually from 2020 to 2022 and VND2.75 trillion last year.

Earlier, Ha Noi planned to have all public vehicles running on electricity or natural gas by 2030 and earmarked VND43 trillion (US$1.69 billion) to make the switch from gasoline.

According to a new plan presented by the administration to the city legislation for approval, all buses will be EVs or use green energy by 2025, while taxis will switch by 2030./.