Tet crowds worsen traffic congestion in Hanoi

By Ngoc Thanh   January 16, 2020 | 08:19 pm PT
A week before Tet, major roads to Hanoi’s suburbs are clogged, with vehicles crawling along at a snail's pace.
A delivery man carries a peach blossom tree, an indispensable house decoration for Tet in northern Vietnam, on Tran Binh Trong Street in downtown Hanoi.At 9 a.m. on Thursday, cars and other vehicles are stuck in a traffic jam on the 800-meter-long street.

A delivery man carrying a peach blossom tree, an indispensable decoration at home for Tet, or the Lunar New Year festival, in northern Vietnam, is stuck in traffic on Tran Binh Trong Street in downtown Hanoi on Thursday morning.

There is huge travel demand in the days leading up to Tet, Vietnam’s biggest and most important holiday by far, resulting in increasing numbers of private vehicles hitting the roads, causing congestion.

A double-decker bus is stuck in traffic on Dien Bien Phu Street in Ba Dinh District.In May 2018, Hanoi commenced its first batch of double-decker buses, or City Tours. However, the open-top bus service failed to attract passengers and one of the main reasons blamed for lackluster performance was the long wait time due to heavy traffic congestion.

Tourists in a double-decker bus are stuck in traffic on Dien Bien Phu Street in Ba Dinh District.

In 2018 Hanoi began the open-top city tour bus service, but it is not very popular due to the constant congestion on the roads.

A woman tries to squeeze through long lines of vehicles on Dien Bien Phu Street.

A woman tries to squeeze her scooter through cars and buses on Dien Bien Phu Street.

On Trang Thi Street in Hoan Kiem District, a little girl could not barely move between two adults on a motorbike filled with bulky parcels. 

On Trang Thi Street in Hoan Kiem District, a little girl is wedged between two adults on a motorbike who probably went shopping for Tet.

At noon, the intersection of Lieu Giai - Dao Tan Street was chaotic. While the traffic light turned red, vehicles were still overflowing in the middle of the road. A part of Kim Ma Street is under construction, forcing motorbike drivers switch to Dao Tan Street, making traffic worse.

At noon on Thursday the intersection of Lieu Giai and Dao Tan Street was chaotic, with vehicles disdaining the red lights.

The sidewalk of Pham Hung Street in Nam Tu Liem District was occupied by motorbikes.

The sidewalk on Pham Hung Street in Nam Tu Liem District is filled with motorbikes.

The situation hadnt improved on Tran Phu Street in Ha Dong District, with motorbike drivers struggling to hustle admist the flow.The city of 7.5 million has around seven million vehicles, with two million more coming in from other places. Needless to say, severe traffic congestion during rush hour has long been a problem.

Tran Phu Street in Ha Dong District.

The city of 7.5 million has around seven million vehicles, with two million more coming in from other places. Needless to say, severe traffic congestion during rush hour has long been a problem.

 
 
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