Free bus tickets: Passengers have increased and the goal is sustainable growth

On the first day of free tickets on 134 bus routes, passengers increased by 14% compared to the previous day, increased by 26% compared to a week ago and increased by 28% compared to the same period last year.

These figures are very encouraging signals for public transport in Ho Chi Minh City.

That is clear evidence that a correct, practical and close-to-people needs policy will quickly create a positive effect.

For workers, workers, students or low-income people, bus tickets are not too much savings, but accumulating small things into large ones will significantly reduce monthly travel costs.

More importantly, free tickets not only help people save money but also create opportunities for many people to change their travel habits.

Many people get on the bus for the first time on July 1st because they want to experience it. Seeing that the bus is cleaner, the waiting area is more spacious, the service staff is more polite, and travel is more convenient, they will have more reason to continue using public transport.

But it is also necessary to recognize that increasing the number of visitors on the first day is not the final success.

The effect of novelty will gradually decrease. The deciding factor is whether the number of passengers will continue to increase after another month, three months or a year.

To do so, free is only a necessary condition, the sufficient condition is service quality.

People will not give up motorbikes if they have to walk kilometers to get to the bus stop, have to wait too long or have no route suitable for their residence and workplace.

A person is willing to take the bus not only because they are exempt from a few thousand VND in fares, but because that means of transport is really convenient, on time and reliable.

If more small bus routes are organized, flexibly going deep into residential areas, connecting with metro stations, bus stations and main bus routes, the distance from home to pick-up point will be significantly shortened.

In parallel with that is the continued improvement of service quality.

Comments on stops, card scanning operations, service attitudes or dropping off stations on the first day of deployment all need to be received and processed quickly.

Further, free bus tickets are not only aimed at increasing the number of passengers.

More and more people switching from motorbikes to buses and the metro, the city will reduce congestion pressure, reduce traffic accidents, reduce air pollution and save significant social costs caused by traffic jams.

That is an advantage that cannot be measured by ticket money.

The free policy has created a favorable start, followed by turning the experience into a daily choice and turning the number of customers increasing in the first few days into a sustainable growth trend.

Read the original here.