Hanoi permitted to collect fees in congested areas

 

Hanoi (VNA) - The Government has approved Hanoi’s proposal to charge private vehicles that enter congested areas across the city as part of its efforts to reduce traffic jams and environmental pollution.

In a document sent by the Government Office, Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue requested the Hanoi People’s Committee submit the plan to the municipal People’s Council.

The People’s Committee was also asked to work with relevant ministries to complete a proposal of emissions fees for the Government’s approval.

In September, the Hanoi People’s Committee submitted a plan to Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc asking for permission to gradually cut the number of vehicles in the capital’s central districts.

The plan details three proposals, including a new fee on vehicles entering the districts in question, an extra fee for pollution and administrative tools to manage electric bicycles and cars.

These are the key strategies Hanoi authorities intend to use to enact the city’s master plan on congestion and pollution management, approved by the Hanoi People’s Council in 2017.

However, this type of fee is not included in the current law, so the Transport Ministry has been asked to review the plan and pass it to the Government and National Assembly for official approval.

The municipal Department of Transport estimated that Hanoi will have over 6 million motorbikes and 843,000 cars clogging its roads by 2020.

Those numbers will continue to climb, and could hit 7.5 million motorbikes and 1.9 million cars by 2030, threatening to worsen the city’s already poor air quality.-VNA