Hanoi's municipal government may ban motorbikes from the streets of the capital by 2025.
At a Party meeting on Monday morning, city officials met to discuss the capital's urban planning and transportation goals, reports VnExpress. As part of a modern urbanization program developed by the Hanoi People's Committee, the city is considering a plan which would slowly phase out motorbikes and other two-wheeled vehicles by 2025.
According to VietnamNet, Chairman Nguyen Duc Chung of the Hanoi People's Committee said the capital will have a staggering 1 million cars and 7 million motorbikes by 2020. These statistics, city officials argue, necessitate a change in urban transportation.
Moving forward, Hanoian authorities will work to beef up the capital's bus system by adding more buses to its fleet and building new routes around the city. At the same time, a limit on personal vehicles may gradually go into effect, banning motorbikes, bicycles and electric bicycles from the streets.
So far, the plan has already garnered mixed reactions. However you feel about the no-motorbike strategy, it will be no easy feat: every month, officials register roughly 18,000-22,000 new motorbikes and 6,000-8,000 new cars in Hanoi.
[Photo via VnExpress]
