Two buses especially designed for people with disabilities have been put into operation in HCM City.
Black boxes installed in 2,600 buses in HCM City The buses have low floors and wide doors and are equipped with wheel-chair lifts.
The Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) buses, worth VND2 billion (US$96,000) each, will run from An Suong Bus Station to HCM City-based Agriculture and Forestry University.
They are among the eight CNG buses imported from Republic of Korea.
Duong Hong Thanh, deputy director of the municipal Transport Department, said public transport in general is not friendly to disabled people.
It is planned that 5 percent of buses will be disable-friendly by 2020 and disabled people are offered free-of-charge services on these buses, he said.
Statistics from the Ministry of Transport show the city has nearly 3,000 buses running on 146 routes.
In a related move, the Ministry of Transport announced a circular draft on support for disabled people traveling by public transport.
The draft also regulates that bus stops, ticket counters, emergency exits and toilets must be easily accessible by disabled people.
Under the draft, operators of public transport vehicles must offer seats which are easily accessible by disabled people and help them get on and off the vehicles.
Operators are also encouraged to set up hotlines to receive complaints from disabled people.
Vietnam has around 6.7 million people with disabilities, including nearly 90,000 in Hanoi and 70,000 in HCM City.