Public transport in Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) can be developed only if the increasing number of private vehicles are controlled, according to a road traffic expert.

The uncontrolled growth of private transport occupies a major part of the city roads, thus hampering the prospects of a good public transport system, HCMC University of Technology Automobiles Division Dr Pham Xuan Mai told the Saigon-gpdaily.com this week.

The city’s current fleet of five million private vehicles pose difficulty in putting traffic order and safety under control.

Private transportation is also unsafe and pollutes the environment considerably, Mai said.

According to Mai, the University has prepared a bus development project that proposes seven well-connected bus service sections dividing the city.

The first phase has been assessed by the city’s Department for Science and Technology and the second phase is under assessment.