Ho Chi Minh City plans small feeder buses to pick up passengers in alleys

The city’s construction department has drafted a proposal for a demand-responsive transport service using vehicles with around nine to 16 seats.

Unlike conventional buses, the smaller vehicles would operate flexibly within designated areas and could enter narrow streets and alleys that larger buses cannot easily reach.

Passengers would be able to request rides through the MultiGo platform, which would help determine pick-up and drop-off points, assign vehicles, plan routes, process payments, and store trip data.

Bui Hoa An, deputy director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Construction, said the system would use 'virtual pick-up points' displayed on the app, with the city aiming to place them around 100-200 meters from residents’ homes.

“Passengers just need to go to the location shown on the app, and a vehicle will pick them up at the scheduled time,” An said.

He described the service as a type of feeder transport designed to carry people from small streets and alleys to existing bus stops and other public transport hubs.

The model could help address one of Ho Chi Minh City’s biggest public transport challenges: getting residents from their homes to major bus routes and metro stations.

More than 60 percent of the city’s urban road network consists of alleys and narrow streets, according to local statistics, making many residential areas difficult for conventional buses to access.

The proposed service would be considered in areas where existing public transport is limited, where residential communities are scattered, and where stronger links are needed to metro stations and other transport hubs.

Under the draft plan, the Department of Construction would decide the operating areas, service hours, routes, and implementation schedule for each phase.

An said transport businesses were already prepared to participate, with vehicle conversion, registration, and route arrangements among the remaining steps.

He added that changes in road transport regulations and the Urban Development Law have given Ho Chi Minh City greater flexibility to introduce the model.

Previously, regulations did not allow public passenger transport services to use vehicles with fewer than 29 seats, making such a feeder service difficult to implement.