HCM CITY — Like Hà Nội, HCM City too plans to ban motorcycles from inner districts by 2030.

Its Department of Transport has submitted a plan to promote public transport together with controlling private motorised vehicles to the city’s chapter of the Fatherland Front.

By 2020 it expects public transportation to carry 15-20 per cent of commuters, increasing gradually to 29.3–36.8 per cent by 2030.

Concomitantly, the proportion of commuters using private vehicles will go down.

If the plan is approved, the city will restrict the use of two- and three-wheeled motor vehicles in a number of areas in the inner districts in 2025–30 when public transport could meet the demand here, with passengers not requiring to walk more than 500 metres.

“The plan will help solve the traffic problems, save cost for society, reduce pollution, and create a civilised, modern and sustainable HCM City,” a spokesman for the department said.

Project No 04 in Hà Nội, approved by the People’s Council, will gradually limit the number of vehicles in some areas of the city in 2017–30, and ban motorbikes in inner districts by 2030.

An official said the project would first be undertaken in areas with good infrastructure.

Parking fees for cars entering HCM City inner districts

In 2020 –25 HCM City will charge fees for automobiles to enter the downtown area while also imposing stringent safety and environmental conditions on them.

The same measures will be taken in Hà Nội.

Vũ Văn Viện, director of the city Department of Transport, said the imposition of fees on cars entering a number of areas in Hà Nội’s inner districts has been approved by the Government and would be ratified by relevant agencies this year.

“The city administration is expected to promulgate regulations for the installation of fee-collection equipment and owners of vehicles have to create accounts for the automatic fee payment by June 2020.”

According to HCM City architect Nguyễn Ngọc Dũng, the country has been licensing motorbike manufacturing plants and imports of motorbikes at a time when many countries are imposing restrictions on them.

Large sums of money are being spent from the Government’s coffers to build roads and address the environmental problems caused by motorbikes, much higher than the taxes collected from the motorbike industry.

In major cities like Hà Nội and HCM City big amounts of money are being paid for parking private vehicles.

Thus, people have to spend more money on travel if they use private means of transport, especially motorbikes.

However, "the unclear roadmap and plans from the central and city governments has caused people to protest against the ban of motorcyles in the inner districts of Hà Nội and HCM City," he added. — VNS