The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Transport has suggested the city government expand its public bicycle rental service in light of the 110,000 users it received during its three-month pilot run.   

Do Ba Dan, chairman of Tri Nam Corporation, the operator of the bike share service, revealed on Wednesday that 110,000 users had registered with the company over the past three months.

About 1,300 people registered for the service every day, with more than 130,000 trips covering a total distance of 600,000 kilometers during the project’s pilot phase, according to Dan.

Early mornings and late afternoons were peak hours for the service.

Stations near the Nguyen Hue Pedestrian Street and shopping malls around the city center were the busiest.

“Over the past three months, the operation of the public bicycle rental service has been very stable,” the chairman said. 

“We hope to expand this service to places outside District 1 in Ho Chi Minh City.”

Hailing the impressive number of users Tri Nam Corporation has lured, Bui Hoa An, deputy director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Transport, said the department will hold a meeting with the company and professional agencies to assess the service's future prospects.

The transport department plans to propose expanding the service to areas surrounding District 1, such as Binh Thanh District, Phu Nhuan District, District 3 , District 7, and places near bus routes.

It expects the service to contribute to affordable forms of transport in the city.

The municipal transport department inaugurated the bike share service in downtown District 1 on December 16, 2021, putting 500 bicycles into operation at 43 stations.

The cost to rent one bicycle is based on service use time, such as VND5,000 ($0.22) per 30 minutes and VND10,000 ($0.44) per hour.

Customers must download the TNGO app on their cellphones to identify the nearest point where bicycles are available for rent.

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