HÀ NỘI — Hà Nội’s Department of Transport has proposed to the Ministry of Transport changes of 400 inter-provincial coach routes through the capital city to reduce traffic congestion in the inner city.

Vũ Hà, deputy director of the city’s Transport Department, told Tiền Phong (Vanguard) newspaper that after the city reordered nearly 1,000 inter-provincial routes departing from Hà Nội, there remained more than 400 inter-provincial routes running through the city.

“These coaches are allowed to run through the city but are not allowed to pick up and drop off passengers. However, they do that while running on the streets of the inner city, such as Ring Road No 3, Mai Dịch flyover, Pháp Vân-Phạm Văn Đồng crossroad, Võ Văn Kiệt road and Thăng Long bridge,” Hà said.

According to the department’s proposal, coaches running from provinces located in the south of Hà Nội to the north of Hà Nội will follow this direction: Pháp Vân-Cầu Giẽ Expressway-elevated Ring Road No 3-Thanh Trì Bridge-Nguyễn Văn Linh Street-Đông Trù Bridge-Hoàng Sa Road-Trường Sa Road-Võ Văn Kiệt-Bắc Thăng Long Road or national highways No 1 and 3 and vice versa.

Coaches running from provinces in the east and south-east of Hà Nội such as Hưng Yên, Hải Dương and Hải Phòng to Vĩnh Phúc, Phú Thọ, Yên Bái, Tuyên Quang, Lào Cai and Lai Châu (north and north-west of Hà Nội) must run on old National Highway No 5 or Hà Nội-Hải Phòng Expressway-Đông Trù Bridge-National Highway No 2 or Nội Bài-Lào Cai Expressway, and vice versa.

Coaches starting at Sơn Tây bus station in Hà Nội to Thái Bình, Ninh Bình, Hà Nam, Nam Định and HCM City must change the route to National Highway No 21-Xuân Mai Road-Hồ Chí Minh Road to travel to southern provinces and cities.

Phan Thị Thu Hiền, deputy head of the Directorate for Roads of Việt Nam, which has been assigned to study the proposal, said the directorate has agreed with the proposed changes. However, the city needs to consider whether the changes will affect operations and number of passengers of transport enperprises or not, she said.

The Directorate has finished feedback to the proposal. The Ministry of Transport will respond to the proposal in the next few days, she said. — VNS