Transport ministry backs Hanoi’s motorbike ban plan

Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Ngoc Dong said Thursday that the capital’s plan to limit personal vehicles is part of a government’s directive on traffic control. 

For now, the city is still researching and analyzing this idea to ensure its residents will have convenient public transportation options available after the ban is imposed, he said.

Tran Bao Ngoc, head of the transport department under the ministry, said that a motorbike ban is one of the solutions to ensure traffic order and reduce emission. Among ASEAN countries, Myanmar has imposed the ban in its capital, he said.

However, the ban needs to go along with developing the city’s public transportation and connectivity between different means of transport, Ngoc said. Parking lots should be set up near metro and bus stations so people can switch transportation means easily, he added.

Hanoi earlier this month revived a plan it had approved in 2017 to ban motorbikes in downtown districts by 2030 and restrict the use of all private vehicles in areas well served by public transport.

It plans to limit the registration of new motorbikes in five downtown districts next year, and later trial a ban of this vehicle during rush hour on some streets which are heavily congested.

The capital, with a population of 7.5 million, has 5.6 million motorbikes and around 550,000 cars, besides some 1.2 million bikes brought in from elsewhere, according to police figures.