14 more bus routes to enter service at Tan Son Nhat International Airport

The city’s Department of Transport will launch the new routes on a pilot scheme. They will be operated by Hai Van International Transportation Joint Venture Company.

Among the 14 routes, four will link the airport in Tan Binh District with the new Mien Dong Bus Station, from where passengers can leave HCMC for localities in the southeastern and central regions; two with the Mien Tay Bus Station that links with the Mekong Delta, and the rest with Thu Duc City, District 8, District 12, Hoc Mon District and Binh Chanh District.

Buses running between the airport and the new destinations will stop to pick up and drop off passengers at stations that already exisit.

Every new bus will have 19 seats each.

The pilot project will start next February and will run until the Ministry of Transport decides to end or continue it.

There are now three public bus routes to Tan Son Nhat International Airport, Vietnam’s biggest airport: bus No. 152 linking the airport with the Trung Son residential area in Binh Chanh District; bus No. 109 that connects the airport with the city’s downtown area; and bus 72-1 that links to Vung Tau beach town.

Public bus services at Tan Son Nhat are not used much as customers find them inconvenient.

Buses only stop at the airport for three minutes, causing passengers to miss it easily and to have to wait around 10-15 minutes for the next bus.

Passengers have also complained that existing bus routes do not connect them to their desired destinations.

About 8 km from the city center, Tan Son Nhat International Airport serves more than 100,000 passengers per day and the area in front of the domestic terminal is usually overcrowded.