Illustration by Trịnh Lập

Nguyễn Mỹ Hà

It’s official: From July 2026, no gasoline motorbikes will be allowed to travel within Zone 1 in Hà Nội. Immediately following the announcement, authorities began searching for solutions to adapt to the new transport regulation.

As transport officials consider a switch to electric bikes and offer schemes to swap gasoline bikes for electric ones, more options have come under discussion.

The public – notably schoolchildren, with their developing imaginations in full swing – have proposed a number of interesting alternatives to motorbike travel. While their suggestions may not yet be practical or applicable to real-life situations, they may be worth considering as possible means of future transport.

“Mummy, if you can’t pick me up from school, then I can rollerskate home, can’t I?” my daughter asked. Her question seems far-fetched now. But imagine if the streets were no longer full of motorbikes, and children had their own lane to rollerskate to and from school – it could be possible, don’t you think?

Among the alternatives, some children mentioned Aladdin’s flying carpet, Harry Potter’s broomstick or even the flying fan attached to Doraemon’s head. Fictional characters all seem to have some kind of superpower that lets them fly freely.

More athletic or older children suggested skateboarding, rollerskating or riding a hoverboard.

Runners or gym-goers said they could walk to the office and back. The more nostalgic types suggested a return to bicycle life before the đổi mới (policy renewal) era – when everyone travelled by bike, sometimes carrying two large baskets on either side, or riding in a rickshaw.

More seriously, we all know the ban was introduced to curb air pollution, and the city authorities should be applauded for their efforts. The air we breathe in and out each day is a shared resource – it isn’t divided by background, education or income. We all need to breathe. Cleaning the air for everyone must be a top priority and should not be delayed.

Hà Nội has more than one million petrol-driven cars of all types and capacities. It also has more than 6.6 million gasoline motorbikes. While there is no precise comparison of emissions between cars and motorbikes, with a car’s exhaust potentially being dozens or even hundreds of times worse than a motorbike’s, simple calculations show that motorbikes are not the main culprit.

If a four-seat car can carry four people from point A to B, then two motorbikes can do the same – faster, more efficiently and with less pollution. At red lights, motorbike riders can turn off their engines and restart them after the wait to save fuel, while car drivers tend not to do so, as they often need air conditioning to cope with the summer heat.

As the city’s daily life and infrastructure are still deeply reliant on motorbikes, they have become an essential part of living in Vietnamese cities and provinces. People go to work on their bikes, drop their children at school, then pick them up again. Women stop by the market on their way home to buy lunch or the next day’s meals. On Sundays, you might see a family of three or four packed onto a motorbike heading out for brunch.

For our generation, motorbikes were part of our youth – they carried us through coming of age, adulthood, building a family and now into retirement. We had hoped we would still be able to get around independently and travel to peaceful homestays or scenic spots in the suburbs with friends.

Thanks to motorbikes, retired grandparents can take their grandchildren to the bookshop or Sunday school, strengthening family bonds and giving the elderly a sense of purpose and vitality.

You’ll see parents dropping off two children at school before heading to work. On weekends, they go from one extracurricular activity to the next. If public transport were more convenient, children could go on their own, saving their parents the time and effort of constant pick-ups and drop-offs.

Mechanics in the city’s bike garages also repurpose old bikes into three-wheelers, allowing people with disabilities to get around independently – offering not just mobility, but a vital boost to self-esteem.

If we ban motorbikes only in the inner city, how will people travel to Zone 2, Zone 3, or further out into other provinces for cross-country trips? The air doesn’t respect boundaries – we cannot simply push pollution to the outskirts and keep the city centre clean. Nature doesn’t work that way. A strong wind will mix it all – whether it’s the posh inner-city quarter or a crowded working district.

If motorbikes are to be banned, then we firmly call for a museum to be built in their honour. Let them be displayed in exhibitions so that future generations will know their grandparents helped rebuild this country – from war-torn hardship to modern life – with the help of these dynamic iron horses.

“Mummy, I love going with you on your bike. It feels cool with the breeze around my ears,” my child always says. They always prefer the motorbike over a taxi. On the bike, you feel the rain, the wind, the heat and the cold – all four seasons. And you don’t stop doing your errands or going to class just because it’s raining.

My little iron horse and faithful companion – you will be sorely missed. VNS