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Can Tho to Launch Public Bike-Sharing Scheme

Published on Monday, 05 December 2016 13:00 Written by Saigoneer.

Can Tho’s urbanites may soon be able to bike around the city thanks to a new public bike-sharing scheme.

In a recent interview with Phap Luat, Deputy Director of the Can Tho Department of Transportation Le Tien Dung shared that if things go smoothly, the metropolis will have 10 bike-sharing stations by 2020.

“Specifically, seven stations will be placed within Ninh Kieu District while Cai Rang, Binh Thuy and Phong Dien Districts will each have one,” Dung told the news source.

The public transport plan will be rolled out in a few phases. At the moment, municipal authorities will focus on outfitting Ninh Kieu District with the necessary infrastructure at Luu Huu Phuoc Park, the vicinity of Can Tho Market, the Muong Thanh roundabout and Song Hau Park.

The public bike program will feature automatic payment machines to allow riders to pick up and deposit bikes at any station. Moreover, bicycles will be monitored by GPS trackers. Dung also added that the government will provide the public sites for the stations, but private companies will take care of the daily operations and equipment.

This is not the first time a city in Vietnam has mentioned a public bike-sharing system. In 2014, the Ministry of Transport put forth a proposal to pilot a similar scheme in five local cities. However, there haven't been any updates on whether anything actually came of the plan.