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Mobike To Roll Out 388 Bicycles In Saigon’s Streets, Cycle Through Town From VND5K

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Mobike bikeshare program hits Saigon’s streets in August 2021

With millions of motorbike users, Saigon’s one of the most congested and polluted cities in Southeast Asia.

To encourage more people to use public transportation and reduce strains on local infrastructure, Saigon will launch a bikeshare program via Mobike in August.

This program is slated to give Saigon residents and tourists the opportunity to rediscover or explore the city on two wheels, which many of us have stopped doing for a very long time. Besides, cycling can save you hefty cab-riding costs – we’ll get into more details on what this entails below.

Rental starts from VND5,000 (~USD0.21) per half hour

Saigon bikeshare program
Image credit: VNExpress

According to VNExpress, the People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City has finally given the nod to launch the city’s largest bikeshare program.

Proposed last year, the program – developed by Trí Nam Group and fittingly named Mobike – will pilot in August and last for about a year. 

During the pilot, 388 bikes will be introduced to bike stations on 43 streets of District 1 and District 3 near bus pickup points. Since a large number of Saigon’s students travel by bus, these bikes will help them travel between bus stations faster. Thanks to many tourist attractions, District 1 is also popular among tourists and photographers. To save costs, you can travel between the attractions by bike or create lovely snapshots with them.

Saigon bikeshare program

Since this program is developed for convenient travel with affordability in mind, bike rental starts from VND5,000 (~USD0.21) for half an hour.

How to use these bikes

Saigon bikeshare program
Image credit: Tuoi Tre

To use these bikes, you need to sign up for membership and verify your identification details through the Mobike app. You’ll also be asked to register an online payment account through the app to pay for rental fees or top up your passes.

Mobike app will give you information on the nearest bike stations and available bikes, as well as the ride code which you can use to unlock the bike. All of these bikes will come with GPS trackers, allowing the bikeshare operators to monitor your routes. 

After finishing your rides, return the bike to the bike station. You can look forward to riding familiar routes such as Công Xã Paris, where the Notre Dame Cathedral and the Grand Post Office are situated, and Võ Thị Sáu Street in District 3 where you’ll find many bus stations. 

This program is also slated to give Saigon residents new commuting options, as most of us only cycle in the city for leisure on our own bikes.

Explore Saigon on two wheels with Mobike

Affordable and flexible, this bikeshare program will give us opportunities to explore Saigon like never before. Instead of riding taxis or hopping on Grab rides, we can get around the Notre Dame Cathedral or the Saigon River ourselves on two wheels and at our own pace. 

Besides, cycling often can help us keep fit and protect the environment at the same time. 

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Cover image adapted from: Tuoi Tre and The Smart Local Vietnam

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