The city government has submitted a proposal to the municipal People's Council seeking approval for the scheme, which is expected to cost about VND 665 billion (USD 25.4 million) over the final six months of the year.
Of the total, around VND 454 billion would cover 109 subsidised bus routes, while VND 211 billion would be allocated to 26 non-subsidised routes.
The programme would be implemented in two phases.
From July to September, bus travel would be free without identity verification, with operators compensated based on fixed trip revenues rather than passenger numbers.
Authorities said the measure was intended to encourage people to switch to public transport and develop long-term travel habits.
GPS data, onboard cameras and electronic ticketing systems would be used to monitor services and passenger volumes.
From October through December, the city plans to move to a reimbursement system based on actual passenger usage after the electronic ticketing system is fully operational.
Under the second phase, passengers would be required to verify their identity by scanning bank cards, e-wallet QR codes, the MultiGo application or the VNeID digital identity platform when boarding buses.
Recorded passenger data would then be used as the basis for government payments to transport operators.