Ho Chi Minh City will have more than 3,600 electric buses by 2030, CNG buses will also be eliminated.

Ho Chi Minh City aims to have about 3,600 electric buses on nearly 300 routes by 2030, completely replacing buses using fossil fuels, including CNG.

Passengers take an electric bus in downtown Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Minh Quan

The People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City has just submitted to the Standing Committee of the Party Committee of the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City a policy to issue a Resolution of the People's Council of Ho Chi Minh City on the roadmap for conversion and support policies for public passenger transport by bus using electricity and green energy.

This is phase 1 of the Project to control vehicle emissions in the city.

Currently, the merged Ho Chi Minh City bus system has 176 routes, of which 108 are subsidized, with a total of 2,386 vehicles. Of these, 627 are electric buses (accounting for 26.3%) and 451 are CNG buses (accounting for 17.9%).

It is expected that by 2030, the number of bus routes will increase to 297, with more than 3,600 vehicles, including 1,474 newly invested vehicles.

According to the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee, based on Circular 53/2024/TT-BGTVT, vehicles using CNG "only reduce direct carbon emissions during operation" compared to gasoline or diesel vehicles, and are no longer classified as clean energy vehicles.

Green energy vehicles include: pure electric vehicles, fuel cell electric vehicles, or vehicles using hydrogen fuel. Therefore, all existing CNG buses will have to be converted to electric or green energy buses in the near future.

Ho Chi Minh City aims for 100% of buses to switch to electricity or green energy by 2030.

Ho Chi Minh City will deploy the conversion and investment of 3,011 electric and green energy buses in the period 2025 - 2030, including 1,537 buses to replace old vehicles and 1,474 new buses.

Adding to the 627 electric buses in operation, by 2030 the city will have more than 3,600 electric buses.

Ho Chi Minh City currently has 627 electric buses. Photo: Anh Tu

To achieve the above goal, Ho Chi Minh City proposed a policy to support loan interest rates for businesses investing in electric buses and charging station infrastructure.

For electric buses and green energy vehicles: Maximum interest support of 85% of vehicle investment loan capital, but not exceeding 300 billion VND/project (excluding deductible VAT).

For investment in electric charging stations: Maximum interest support of 70% of construction investment capital and 85% of technology and equipment investment capital, up to 200 billion VND/project (excluding deductible VAT).

The maximum support period is 7 years, but does not exceed the actual loan period, calculated from the date of first loan disbursement at Ho Chi Minh City State Finance Investment Company (HFIC).

Currently, Ho Chi Minh City has 5 electric bus charging stations with 56 charging posts, meeting the needs of 627 electric buses in operation.

In the coming period, Ho Chi Minh City will socialize investment in electric charging stations at 19 bus stations in the central area and 15 bus stations in Binh Duong and Ba Ria - Vung Tau .

State-owned enterprises and public service units also plan to invest in 10 more charging stations in the 2025-2027 period.

When completed, the entire system will have 393 super-fast charging stations, capable of serving 5,502 charging vehicles per day.

Regarding technical standards for bus charging stations, according to the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City, in the context that Vietnam has not yet issued national standards for charging stations and poles, the Department of Construction of Ho Chi Minh City has coordinated with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) to research and complete the "Technical guidelines for electric bus charging stations", based on current national and international standards.

This document has been consulted by the Ministry of Transport, Ministry of Construction, Ministry of Science and Technology, Ministry of Industry and Trade and Ministry of Public Security , ensuring consistency, feasibility and safety.

The charging station will use CCS2 port - a globally popular standard and open software, easy to connect between brands.

Source: https://ttbc-hcm.gov.vn/tphcm-se-co-hon-3-600-xe-bust-dien-vao-nam-2030-xe-bust-cng-cung-bi-loai-bo-1019865.html