Professor Manfred Breithaupt, senior transport advisor for the GermanSociety for International Cooperation, spoke to Viet Nam News about howVietnamese cities can cope with rising numbers of personal vehicles.
* The Transport Ministry of Vietnam has proposedlimiting personal vehicles entering the downtown area, but this hascaused concerns by experts and the public alike, because personalvehicles are still the dominating force in Vietnam's urban cities. Whatare your thoughts about this?
Dealing only withthe supply side while trying to satisfy increasing demand by buildingmore road infrastructure will not help to solve the problems ofincreasing congestion and other adverse effects of motorized individualurban transport.
In this context, we welcome thegovernment's decision to increase parking fees, traffic fines and alsorestricting and limiting vehicle entries, especially in the downtownarea's of major cities.
Such restrictions canpromote compact development of urban areas which, in turn, can help increating more accessible and less automobile-dependent communities.
However, I would like to caution that such measures should becarefully planned holistically before being actually implemented,otherwise many private vehicle trips would simply shift to other partsof the city, resulting in no actual reduction in mileage or emissions.
It is best that such measures are combined andimplemented together with other disincentives to driving and, at thesame time, conditions for walking, cycling and public transportation (interms of services, frequency and infrastructure) be improved. We callit the push and pull approach. We shall also not forget that suchrestrictions should be flexible enough to accommodate the travel demandpatterns of vehicles used for business (taxis, delivery vehicles,vehicles used for construction work, etc.).
*Limiting personal vehicles has been used in cities around the world.However, those cities often have developed public transportation systemsand infrastructure. For Vietnamese cities, what are the options wehave, considering the less-developed picture?
Itis important to understand that cities which have successfullyimplemented such measures have, in the past, faced similar situations asto those the Vietnamese cities are facing today, namely congestion,pollution, increased fatalities and a decreasing quality of life.
However, through institutional and regulatory reforms these citieshave transformed themselves and still continue to do so.
The first step towards countering the exponential growth of personalvehicles is to provide high quality public transport.
This should be supported by prioritizing public transport investmentsand non-motorised transport (NMT) related infrastructures, compared tobuilding flyovers, widening of road lanes, etc.
Many European cities have demonstrated that "parking management" can besuccessfully used to minimise the ill effects of auto-centric policies.Tools such as pricing, on-street and off-street parking time limits,reducing parking in inner parts of the city, and abolishing parkingminimums are correctly used in combination in cities like Berlin,Munich, London, Zurich, Paris and many other places.
The key is to treat parking space as a real-estate commodity, rather than as a necessity.
* If we limit personal vehicles effectively, there must be betterurban management policies on designating proper areas for parking,walking streets, and other options for the public to use transportation.Does this require a complete change in our urban management vision?
The first, and foremost, is that our mobility solutions should be designed to move people, and not cars or motorbikes.
Authorities need to understand that building more roads is not goingto solve the problem because increasing road space only attracts moretraffic, supports urban sprawl and increases the length of trips.
Vietnamese cities must invest in high quality public transport, with apriority on integrating existing or proposed city bus services withother transit modes, not to forget to support better pedestrian andcycling networks to also encourage non-motorised transport usage.
Cities should actively manage their growth and development patterns inorder to facilitate and reinforce the advantages of sustainabletransport modes.
Authorities should have a visionfor their respective cities. The question that need to be asked is: Whatshould their city look like in 10 years, 20 years or 30 years from now?
Will it be a livable city, having well preservedhistoric centers with open and public spaces, with a well functioningurban transport system, or a city blanketed with congestion and exhaustfumes?
Many cities have recognised the needs oftheir citizens and are moving towards profound changes in how theyorganise urban mobility. All priority goes towards a well-integratedpublic transport system, supported by a high quality walking and cyclinginfrastructure.
In those cities, there is a highshare of public and non-motorised transport users. Very often, financialsupport to cities from central and provincial governments for urbantransport infrastructure is limited only to investments in sustainableurban transport facilities.-VNA
* The Transport Ministry of Vietnam has proposedlimiting personal vehicles entering the downtown area, but this hascaused concerns by experts and the public alike, because personalvehicles are still the dominating force in Vietnam's urban cities. Whatare your thoughts about this?
Dealing only withthe supply side while trying to satisfy increasing demand by buildingmore road infrastructure will not help to solve the problems ofincreasing congestion and other adverse effects of motorized individualurban transport.
In this context, we welcome thegovernment's decision to increase parking fees, traffic fines and alsorestricting and limiting vehicle entries, especially in the downtownarea's of major cities.
Such restrictions canpromote compact development of urban areas which, in turn, can help increating more accessible and less automobile-dependent communities.
However, I would like to caution that such measures should becarefully planned holistically before being actually implemented,otherwise many private vehicle trips would simply shift to other partsof the city, resulting in no actual reduction in mileage or emissions.
It is best that such measures are combined andimplemented together with other disincentives to driving and, at thesame time, conditions for walking, cycling and public transportation (interms of services, frequency and infrastructure) be improved. We callit the push and pull approach. We shall also not forget that suchrestrictions should be flexible enough to accommodate the travel demandpatterns of vehicles used for business (taxis, delivery vehicles,vehicles used for construction work, etc.).
*Limiting personal vehicles has been used in cities around the world.However, those cities often have developed public transportation systemsand infrastructure. For Vietnamese cities, what are the options wehave, considering the less-developed picture?
Itis important to understand that cities which have successfullyimplemented such measures have, in the past, faced similar situations asto those the Vietnamese cities are facing today, namely congestion,pollution, increased fatalities and a decreasing quality of life.
However, through institutional and regulatory reforms these citieshave transformed themselves and still continue to do so.
The first step towards countering the exponential growth of personalvehicles is to provide high quality public transport.
This should be supported by prioritizing public transport investmentsand non-motorised transport (NMT) related infrastructures, compared tobuilding flyovers, widening of road lanes, etc.
Many European cities have demonstrated that "parking management" can besuccessfully used to minimise the ill effects of auto-centric policies.Tools such as pricing, on-street and off-street parking time limits,reducing parking in inner parts of the city, and abolishing parkingminimums are correctly used in combination in cities like Berlin,Munich, London, Zurich, Paris and many other places.
The key is to treat parking space as a real-estate commodity, rather than as a necessity.
* If we limit personal vehicles effectively, there must be betterurban management policies on designating proper areas for parking,walking streets, and other options for the public to use transportation.Does this require a complete change in our urban management vision?
The first, and foremost, is that our mobility solutions should be designed to move people, and not cars or motorbikes.
Authorities need to understand that building more roads is not goingto solve the problem because increasing road space only attracts moretraffic, supports urban sprawl and increases the length of trips.
Vietnamese cities must invest in high quality public transport, with apriority on integrating existing or proposed city bus services withother transit modes, not to forget to support better pedestrian andcycling networks to also encourage non-motorised transport usage.
Cities should actively manage their growth and development patterns inorder to facilitate and reinforce the advantages of sustainabletransport modes.
Authorities should have a visionfor their respective cities. The question that need to be asked is: Whatshould their city look like in 10 years, 20 years or 30 years from now?
Will it be a livable city, having well preservedhistoric centers with open and public spaces, with a well functioningurban transport system, or a city blanketed with congestion and exhaustfumes?
Many cities have recognised the needs oftheir citizens and are moving towards profound changes in how theyorganise urban mobility. All priority goes towards a well-integratedpublic transport system, supported by a high quality walking and cyclinginfrastructure.
In those cities, there is a highshare of public and non-motorised transport users. Very often, financialsupport to cities from central and provincial governments for urbantransport infrastructure is limited only to investments in sustainableurban transport facilities.-VNA
