During a meeting between the central and local governments on Monday, Hanoi People's Committee Chairman Nguyen Duc Chung urged the capital to craft a plan to reduce the number of private vehicles on its streets.
According to Chung, Hanoi currently registers 18,000-22,000 new motorbikes and 6,000-8,000 new four-wheeled vehicles a month, reports the People's Army Newspaper. With forthcoming tariff cuts to slash car prices by 2018, Chung warned, the number of four-wheeled automobiles would only increase.
If left unchecked, Hanoi's number of registered vehicles could rise to 8 million by 2020, the chairman continued, excluding those vehicles traveling to the city from other localities. Given Hanoi's already terrible track record with traffic jams – which some blame on poor driving etiquette rather than too many vehicles – this is a problem Hanoi will want to tackle sooner rather than later.
[Photo via Zing]
