Hanoi, the capital city of Vietnam, is on its way to going completely motorcycle and scooter free by 2030.

Officials in the traffic-jammed capital vowed yesterday to banish any sort of motorbikes within the next decade in order to ease environment and congestions woes.

Hanoi is a fast-growing city famed for literally legions of all sorts of motorbikes (often stacked with entire families or loads of deliveries) that keep clogging roads and causing traffic jams. There are over five million motorbikes and only half a million cars among a population of seven million people.

Before approving this once draft resolution, the officials have asked the Hanoi Police Department to survey local households and gather opinions on the matter. Over 15,000 questionnaires in 30 districts were issued and the police claim 84% of the people agreed with the plan.

Hanoi authorities proposed to carry out the resolution with three overlapping steps.

• From 2017 to 2018, they will tighten management on personal vehicles and improve the state management work.
• From 2017 to 2020, public transport will be developed and personal vehicles will be restricted from entering congestion hot spots alternately on odd and even days depending on their number plates.
• From 2017 to 2030, personal vehicles will be banned from certain locations on certain times in order to ban motorbikes in 2030.

Source: Vietnamnet; The Daily Star

Photo by Padmanaba01