HCMC public bicycles popularity ebbs, operator to offer electric option

Nguyen Phuong, 24, used to be a regular user of the service in the downtown area, often renting the bikes to go to work, but of late has been using it less since it is "time-consuming and inconvenient."

She used to take a bus from her house to 23 Thang 9 Park near Ben Thanh Market in the city center, and rent a bicycle to get to work on Nguyen Dinh Chieu Street, a distance of about two kilometers, she says.

A public bicycle station at the corner of Le Loi - Nguyen Hue streets in Ho Chi Minh City in late Septembe 2025. Photo by VnExpress/Giang Anh

But because there was no bike station near her office, she had to ride almost a kilometer after work to return the bike and walk to a nearby bus station to get home, taking about half an hour every day, she says.

"I like bicycles because I can both travel and exercise while enjoying the views, but using them for my daily commute is hard, and so I have switched to a motorbike for convenience."

She now only uses the bicycles on her days off and weekends when she hangs out with friends.

The lack of rear seats on the bikes is another inconvenience for users, she adds.

Bui Van, 35, continues to use public bicycles because they are convenient to reach the Ben Thanh - Suoi Tien metro line. His home is about 300 meters from Binh Thai Station.

Every morning he walks to the metro and rides it to downtown, gets off at Ba Son Station and rents a bicycle to reach his office on Ly Tu Trong Street.

"There are many bike stations near the metro stations in the city’s center, so traveling within the downtown is fairly convenient," he says.

People ride public bicycle in downtown Ho Chi Minh City, December 2021. Photo by VnExpress/Giang Anh

But the bike stations are mainly concentrated in central areas and near bus stops, metro stations, parks, and schools, and users find it easy to rent but difficult to return bikes if their destinations are far from stations, he warns.

The weather and lack of dedicated bike lanes make cycling a chore, he adds.

VnExpress found that rentals have declined sharply at many central bike stations such as Le Loi, Le Thanh Ton, Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, and Dinh Tien Hoang streets. Many are in fact empty, with dozens of bikes neatly lined up but rarely used.

The rental service, operated by Tri Nam Group JSC, was launched in 2021 and now has 52 stations and over 500 bikes.

The bicycles are equipped with smart locks and GPS tracking and can be unlocked via a mobile app. The rent is VND5,000 (US$0.19) for 30 minutes.

Statistics from the operator show a continuous decline in users: from 320,000 in 2022 to 164,000 in 2023 to 80,400 last year.

It fell further in the first six months of 2025.

Do Ba Dan, chairman of Tri Nam Group JSC, says the decrease was only "expected" since after the initial phase, which attracted lots of users looking for a "new experience," the service has now entered a stable phase, attracting only customers with real demand.

"Current regular users mainly travel short distances or combine biking with buses and metro. This is a sustainable group with habitual usage patterns."

Tourists and young people remain a stable group on weekends when they want to combine exercising and taking a tour of the city, he says.

It reflects the true role of public bicycles, which is serving short-distance travel, connecting with public transport and promoting environmentally friendly commuting habits, he explains.

Nevertheless, to improve convenience, Trung Nam is planning to add 500 electric bicycles on a trial basis in HCMC and Hanoi in the next one or two months.

This is to target users needing faster travel over longer distances.

The company will evaluate its effectiveness before possibly expanding.

"With their role in serving short trips and connecting public transport, bicycles will remain a long-term solution to diversify urban mobility options," Dan adds.

HCMC is all set to launch a dedicated six-kilometer bicycle lane on Mai Chi Tho Boulevard in the former Thu Duc City that will be nearly two meters wide along both sidewalks.

This is seen as the first step in developing a dedicated network to encourage cycling and enhance connectivity with public transport.

A woman walks past a bicycle station on Le Thanh Ton Street in downtown HCMC in September 2025. Photo by VnExpress/Giang Anh

Le Trung Tinh, chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Passenger Transport Association, says creating dedicated lanes is imperative since "one reason public bicycles have not become popular as expected is the lack of safe infrastructure."

Bicycles are not only a means for locals and visitors to the city to travel short distances but also support the development of public transport, especially with the Ben Thanh – Suoi Tien metro operational and other lines under preparation.

Citing experiences from cities like Bogotá (Colombia) and Guangzhou (China), he says that for public bicycles to thrive, dedicated lanes must be well-planned, their stations must be widely distributed and pathways need to be unobstructed.

Such bicycle lanes as Tinh mentioned can be seen in Seoul in South Korea, Taipei in Taiwan and Singapore.

"People will cycle more when there is safe space, dedicated lanes, and convenient stations," he says.

He adds that if the city focuses on developing this network, bicycles could become a popular mode of transport, helping reduce congestion and pollution.