And what are the opportunities? There is a large demand. In terms of demand, if we can establish a good system, people will definitely use. And there is an availability of tested technology. As Professor has shown, there are many types of technology and system available in the world. So we only have to worry about what to choose to fit in the HCMC.
And the third opportunity is the private sector can participate. Of course the private sector cannot develop everything and operate everything, but if the government can provide proper role sharing: what government will do and what private sector will do. Many capable private sectors in the world can participate in the development and operation of the system.
For HCMC, there's also a good opportunity to undertake an integrated development in the CBD, corridor and other outer areas if the city urban development is very well integrated with transport planning.
So let's summarize the key aspects of the mass transit development. Firstly, it is the integration with the overall urban development planning, which is a very important aspect. And secondly, that is the formulation of development strategy for priority corridors. We have to clearly identify what corridors we are going to look into. Different corridors require for the selection of different systems, wherein we also have to look into how to acquire the land and what the construction method is. It will affect the existing traffic very badly, especially during the construction. So normally the construction works take about 2-3 years; and during such period, people will have to suffer very much. So for a safe development, we cannot construct everything at a time; and we have to introduce a very good stage development.
And lastly, it is the establishment of sustainable development, management in terms of financing and fare setting, especially fares since this is public transport and it should be within the capacity of the people. So if the government is going to provide lower fares, of course more people will take a ride. And if we going to set high fares, financially it may become viable, but less people can use it. So that is a dilemma of the development of mass transit, namely where a good government policy should come in.
Now, I would like to explain one example in China of how they are approaching urban transport. In terms of the infrastructure, they are constructing urban expressways, ring roads, and flyovers, especially for big cities, which are in very good progress. One of the very unique policies is the control of motorcycles. They are conducting a very strict policy of controlling and restricting the ownership and usage of motorcycles. For example, in Chengdu, the government is only allowing 50-100 motorcycles every month.
Of course, you can have a motorcycle, but you will have to pay about 1000 dollars for registration, which is very high. And while the motorcycle use is control, they are giving priority for bicycles. There's an exclusive role for rail and bicycles. Priority is also given to roads, including the intersections. And also public transport is given priority. For example, this is a bus-exclusive lane; other vehicles cannot come in. And there are many types of public transport. They have subways, tramways, double-deckers, articulated buses, standard buses, minibuses and mini cabs, so that people can choose depending on the purposes of their trips.
