Regulations on public passenger transport business by bus in Vietnam from January 1, 2025

Regulations on public passenger transport business by bus in Vietnam from January 1, 2025​ (Image from the internet)

On December 18, 2024, the Government of Vietnam issued Decree 158/2024/ND-CP regarding road transport activities.

Regulations on public passenger transport business by bus in Vietnam from January 1, 2025

Article 5 of Decree 158/2024/ND-CP stipulates the regulations on public passenger transport business by bus in Vietnam as follows:

(1) Transport business units holding a Passenger Transportation Business License by automobile, including the business type of public passenger transport by bus, are allowed to engage in public transport business by bus on intra-provincial and inter-provincial bus routes.

(2) Automobiles used for business in public passenger transport by bus must:

- Have priority seating for people with disabilities, the elderly, and pregnant women and children under 6 years old;

- Display the “BUS” sign as per Form No. 03 in Appendix XIII attached to this Decree, affixed permanently at the upper-right corner directly below the position of the Inspection Seal, on the inside of the front windshield; and display all required information on the bus;

- Meet the position, seating, standing places for passengers, and other technical regulations for buses according to national technical standards on safety, quality, and environmental protection for automobiles.

(3) The Department of Transport shall manage routes for intra-provincial and inter-provincial bus routes by:

- Developing, adjusting, supplementing, and announcing the route network list, bus schedules, and fare rates;

- Proposing, developing, and reporting to the provincial People's Committee on state support policies for encouraging the development of public passenger transport by bus within the local area; organizing bidding and criteria for contracting bus operation on announced route network lists according to bidding laws; organizing contracts for inter-provincial bus routes and routes using open-top buses for tourist transport not receiving budget support;

- Developing, maintaining, and managing the infrastructure serving bus operations; deciding technical criteria, start and end points, and stop points for bus routes within the local area;

- Monitoring and summarizing transport activities' results by transport business units on the routes; compiling passenger volume statistics.

(4) Bus passenger transport business units must store Transport Orders as follows:

- Store Transport Orders of completed trips (not receiving budget support) for at least 3 years;

- Store Transport Orders of completed trips (receiving budget support) according to the accounting document retention period provided in Clause 5, Article 41 of the Accounting Law 2015.

(5) Buses are prioritized for parking and stopping locations to pick up and drop off passengers at bus stations, train stations, airports, ports, tourist areas, tourist attractions, accommodation establishments for tourists, tourist sites, cultural places, sports centers, commercial centers, transportation hubs, and connecting points with other transport modes; they are prioritized activities during urban traffic organization.

More details can be found in Decree 158/2024/ND-CP, effective from January 1, 2025.

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