The initial route is almost 11kms long and will terminate at Linh Dong in the district of Thu Duc. The route will take passengers along the Saigon River as well as a short stretch of the Thanh Da Canal.
The river ferry is being launched to help alleviate rapidly worsening traffic conditions in Vietnam’s second city. Primarily aimed at commuters, the service will also offer tourists an alternate means of getting around.
Thuong Nhat Company is behind the launch of the river ferries. Director Nguyen Kim Toan says the ferries will run to fixed timetables to attract passengers. He added that the ferries would stop at seven piers en route and the journey time from end station to end station would be 21 minutes.
Thuong Nhat has already agreed fares with Ho Chi Minh’s transport division. Single journeys for the first year of operation will be VND15,000. 12GO ASIA notes that this works out to only US$0.70 and is a cheap means of seeing some of the city’s sights.
Inaugural river ferry service to launch in Ho Chi Minh City
News in Asia
The operator of a new river ferry service in Ho Chi Minh City has confirmed it will make its maiden voyage later this month. The plans have been in the pipeline for eight years but will finally come to fruition when the debut ferry sails from Bach Dang Pier.