On the heels of Hanoi's plan to ban motorbikes by 2025, Saigon is exploring the possibility of limiting private vehicles downtown to reduce traffic congestion.
According to VnExpress, Department of Transport statistics registered an average of 180 new cars a day in the first half of 2016. By June 15, Saigon had 7.6 million registered vehicles, including 600,000 cars.
With vehicle purchases climbing, city officials have mulled everything from car import quotas to banning four-wheeled vehicles in the downtown area, however experts admit there is no easy solution to Saigon's congestion dilemma.
According to Deputy Director Tran Quang Lam of the municipal Department of Transport, a limit on private vehicles may be in Saigon's future.
“We are working with a university to draw up a roadmap to reduce traffic in central areas,” Lam told VnExpress. “We may limit private vehicles on weekend evenings to start with, like we have already done on Nguyen Hue Street.”
However this plan, Deputy Director Lam noted, would only go into effect once Metro Line 1 is complete, providing residents with an alternative means of transportation.
