Director of Traffic Planning Institute: Hanoi should ban motorbikes by the hour

"It is difficult to completely ban motorbikes in Hanoi in the next 10 years, but limiting them by corridor, time, and area is feasible and must be implemented," said Dr. Dinh Thi Thanh Binh, Director of the Institute of Transport Planning and Management.

-What is the current growth rate of personal vehicles in Hanoi?

- Currently, there are over 2,500 motorbikes and nearly 200 cars per kilometer of road in Hanoi. On average, about 20 people own a car and 1.5 people own a motorbike. The growth rate of cars is 13% per year and is increasing; motorbikes increase by about 7% per year and the growth trend is slowing down.

In Hanoi, a 6 km trip during rush hour takes about 20-30 minutes; if there is no impact on managing private vehicles, by 2020 it will take about 30-40 minutes to travel 6 km, and by 2025 it will be 40-55 minutes. Thus, without intervention and regulation, traffic congestion will become extremely serious in the near future.

Reducing motorbikes and private cars is currently difficult to implement simultaneously because there is no alternative means of transport for people. However, it is still possible to implement some pilot measures to limit private vehicles in the central area; separate traffic for motorbikes, cars, taxis and trucks; tighten management of parking on the street... while waiting for the increase of public transport.

- What is your opinion on the Personal Vehicle Management Project that Hanoi is building?

- The project “Strengthening the management of personal vehicles to reduce traffic congestion in Hanoi” is the first step of the city towards personal motor vehicles. I highly appreciate the timeliness of this project.The proposed solutions in the Project are relatively comprehensive and divided into implementation phases according to appropriate groups. However, the new solutions are of a policy nature and the city will need to develop more specific implementation plans.

The Project sets a target for public passenger transport: 25% by 2020; 32% by 2025. While it is currently only below 10% and bus output is decreasing, in addition, large-scale public transport projects are behind schedule...

	Dr. Dinh Thi Thanh Binh. Photo: NVCC

- RecentlyMinister of Transport Truong Quang Nghia cited experts' analysis saying that by 2025, motorbikes will not be banned in Hanoi due to lack of public transport. What do you think about this assessment?

- If the implementation of mass public passenger transport projects continues as planned, by 2025 Hanoi will be able to completely restrict motorbikes on some main roads and central areas.

It takes about 10 years to complete a mass transit route. If the plan goes according to plan, by 2020 Hanoi will have urban railway line 2A (Cat Linh - Ha Dong), line 3 (Nhon - Hanoi Railway Station) and 1-2 BRT lines. By 2025, it is expected to have line 1 (Yen Vien - Ngoc Hoi); line 2 (Nam Thang Long - Tran Hung Dao), line 5 (Ho Tay - Lang Hoa Lac). The rest will still be dominated by buses.

Thus, by 2025, if resources are prioritized and the progress of urban railway projects is ensured, important corridors such as the north-south, west, southwest, airport, and center will all have large-volume passenger transport, meeting a large part of travel needs.

Along with that, Hanoi needs to implement measures to manage traffic demand to change the nature of demand (arranging staggered school and work hours, sharing vehicles, organizing buses to pick up and drop off high school students and employees, etc.), along with limiting personal vehicles on a schedule. In short, by 2025, completely banning motorbikes is difficult, but limiting them by corridor, by hour, by area is feasible and must be implemented if all traffic activities are not to be disrupted.

- What suggestions do you have for Hanoi's efforts to limit personal vehicles?

- We must implement restrictive solutions now, not wait until 2025.This phase can only be limited to small scale (central area, by corridor, by hour) as a pilot, so that people can gradually get used to and switch to public transport. At this time, traffic organization and control are very important to ensure the main corridors are clear for buses and cars to circulate; motorbikes can run on detours to take advantage of small, narrow roads.

Traffic jams in Hanoi due to sharp increase in personal vehicles. Photo: Ba Do.

In addition to buses, develop means of transporting students, especially primary school students; increase vehicles to transport employees of agencies.

Hanoi, with its characteristic of small alleys, should strengthen connections with public transport routes by flexible and mobile means such as developing bicycle rental services, arranging bicycle and motorbike parking lots near stations and special stops for residential areas that are far away or cannot access the main roads by bus.

It is necessary to tighten the management of sidewalk use to both create ventilation and limit the use of private vehicles. For example, do not allow motorbikes and cars to park on the street; charge high fees at motorbike and car parking spots.

According to VNE