HÀ NỘI — Hà Nội is trying to implement measures to restrict the number of personal vehicles in the inner city in an effort to reduce traffic congestion and pollution.

According to chairman of Hà Nội People’s Committee, the traffic congestion has eased after a year-long personal vehicle management project.

Congestion hotspots dropped to 31 in 2018 compared to 41 hotspots in 2017, Chung said in the report to the city People’s Council recently.

In public transport, Chung added that in 2018 the bus network has covered 30 districts, basically serving the residents living in concentrated residential areas, industrial parks and new urban areas.

The public transport has met demand of 14.1 per cent of the people, increasing 4 percentage points from 2017, he said.

Along with that, the transport infrastructure has been improved. Several transportation works have been put in use efficiently including 11 bridges, 280 roads and some overpasses, contributing to the reduction of traffic accidents in the city.

There is also plans that anyone caught on camera committing traffic violations will have the fines taken direct from their bank accounts.

In 2017, the city also implemented five items in the project of transport means management including raising public awareness, improving the quality of public transport; adjusting regulations related to private vehicles to the city and the management of vehicles with expired registration as well as second-hand motorbikes that fail to meet safety requirements.

In 2018, the city was working on 17 items in the plan, the chairman said.

In the next two years, from 2019 to 2020, the city will implement measures to gradually limit motorbikes in inner districts. It will be carried out in areas which have appropriate infrastructure and meet the capacity of the public passenger transport system, he said.

Hà Nội is developing a public transport system, which by 2020 will be able to serve the needs of 30 to 35 per cent of citizens in the inner city and of 15 per cent of citizens in satellite cities.

Report from the Ministry of Transport’s Transport Development and Strategy Institute showed that the city now has about 5.5 million motorbikes and nearly 500,000 cars. — VNS