Hanoi to launch affordable double-decker bus tickets

VietNamNet Bridge – The Ha Noi Transport Service Company (Transerco) plans to issue tickets for the double-decker tour bus service at cheaper price to attract more visitors this summer.

Tourists use umbrellas to avoid the sunlight during a double-decker bus tour in Hanoi. – Photo news.zing.vn

The double-decker bus service is the first of its kind in the capital city.

Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, Transerco deputy director Nguyen Cong Nhat said the company would study to reduce the cost of tickets for the bus tour. The new ticket will exclude the Hop-on, Hop-off service, which means passengers need not get off the bus during the entire trip to 30 attractions in the city.

The current prices are VND300,000 (US$13.3) for a four-hour tour, VND450,000 ($20) for 24 hours and VND650,000 ($28.8) for 48 hours.

The new prices will be affordable for most passengers, he said.

On May 30, Hanoi launched its first double-decker city tour, with hop-on and hop-off at 13 stops, running through 25 streets and taking tourists to 30 destinations in the city.

The bus arrives every 30 minutes from 9am to 5pm every day. Tourists can choose to join or stop the tour at any bus stop along the route. The buses are equipped with an automatic multi-lingual narration system in Vietnamese, English, Chinese, Japanese and Korean.

After nearly one month on trial, the results remained modest.

Nhat said each double-decker bus could accommodate 80 passengers and generally operated for eight hours every day.

Transerco has been selling 70 tickets in a day on an average, mainly to foreign tourists.

Nhat said the main reasons were high prices of tickets and hot weather.

He said the investment capital for the double-decker buses was huge as the vehicle was to boost tourism and was not meant for public transport.

Tourists can hop on and hop off at 30 attractions as many times as they wish with only one ticket.

This type of vehicle has been used in more than 100 countries around the world to boost tourism. 

Transerco will also consider operating these buses at night.

Nguyen Phi Thuong, chairman of the board of Transerco, told news.zing.vn that tourists who purchased tickets for a 24-hour tour could transfer their tickets as it would remain valid for a day.

He said each double-decker bus cost VND6 billion ($261,300) and was equipped with modern technology such as GPS and automatic narration system and met the Euro4 emission standard.

The company currently runs three buses as a trial and will collect public feedback before introducing more such buses.

Source: VNS