HCMC – The HCMC Department of Transport has proposed barring sleeper buses from entering the inner-city areas round the clock.

The Transport Department has also asked other departments and relevant agencies for their feedback on the proposal.

The proposal comes after four months of the ban on sleeper buses from traveling in the inner-city areas from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. being in place.

It aims to strengthen management and inspections over the operations of the vehicles.

Under the proposal, sleeper buses would not be allowed to enter the inner-city districts, with the off-limits area bound by National Highway 1 and the streets of Nguyen Van Linh, Vo Chi Cong, Nguyen Thi Dinh, Dong Van Dong, Mai Chi Tho, and the Hanoi Highway.

However, sleeper buses would be permitted to travel on those roads without any time limitation and enter the Mien Dong and Mien Tay coach stations on the fixed routes regulated by the transport department.

Specifically, they must follow the National Highway 1 – National Highway 13 – Dinh Bo Linh Street route to enter and exit the Mien Dong Coach Station.

As for the Mien Tay Coach Station, sleeper buses would be allowed on the National Highway 1 – Kinh Duong Vuong Street route.

According to the department, the time limit travel restriction for sleeper buses has eased traffic jams in downtown areas, but illegally-established interprovincial bus stations in inner-city areas still exist, which has led traffic congestion to worsen.

Currently, HCMC has five inter-provincial coach stations, including the old Mien Dong, Mien Tay, An Suong, Nga Tu Ga and the new Mien Dong stations, with 58 bus service providers operating on fixed routes with 1,600 vehicles and over 1,350 firms providing around 91,000 contract cars and tourist cars.

In March, the city saw 60 illegally-established interprovincial bus stations, lesser by 16 as compared to late 2022.