Hanoi to ban gasoline motorbikes during specific hours starting July 2026

Under a resolution unanimously approved by the Hanoi People's Council on Nov. 26, the Vietnamese capital will start banning gasoline motorbikes during specific hours or within designated areas inside Ring Road 1 in the downtown starting July 1, 2026.

The restrictions apply to both personal vehicles and app-based motorbike services. Cars that fail to meet Euro 4 emissions standards will also face time-based or route-based limits, with an eventual full ban planned.

The low-emission zone is one of Hanoi's most ambitious efforts yet to tackle its chronic air pollution. Government data for 2016–2020 shows PM2.5 concentrations in the city running nearly twice the national standard, with motorbikes singled out as the biggest polluter, accounting for the bulk of traffic emissions that range from 58% to 74% depending on the time of year.

The first phase, launching July 2026, will be piloted in several wards within Ring Road 1, including Hai Ba Trung, Cua Nam, Hoan Kiem, O Cho Dua, Van Mieu–Quoc Tu Giam, Ba Dinh, Giang Vo, Ngoc Ha and Tay Ho.

By Jan. 1, 2028, the zone will extend across all of Ring Road 1 and into several wards along Ring Road 2, such as Lang, Dong Da, Kim Lien, Bach Mai and Vinh Tuy. A wider rollout is planned for Jan. 1, 2030, covering areas inside the outlying Ring Road 3 and bringing the total to 36 wards and communes.

The city has also set a green-transition roadmap for commercial transport vehicles. All motorbikes used for business must switch to clean energy by 2030. Beginning July 2026, all new taxi vehicles must be electric or run on approved green fuels. From 2035 onward, the municipal government will decide when and where broader restrictions on fossil-fuel vehicles apply citywide.

Additional measures include halting new registrations of fossil-fuel vehicles when old ones are scrapped, especially for vehicles owned by companies, and banning gasoline and diesel trucks over 3.5 tons from entering the zone.

City officials say they opted for time-slot restrictions instead of 24/7 bans after consultations showed residents and businesses needed more time to adjust. Hanoi has more than 8 million vehicles, 6.9 million of them motorbikes, along with 1.2 million additional vehicles entering from other provinces daily, placing heavy pressure on air quality, road capacity and enforcement systems.

A separate resolution to support residents in switching to electric or green vehicles is in development but was pulled from the most recent council session.

Hanoi considers low-emission zones a key tool to reverse years of dangerous smog levels, cut traffic emissions and push the capital toward cleaner mobility.