Bike boom bursts
Central and local governments clench their fists in the war against traffic
jams. Heavy fines, a cap on the number of motorbikes and public
transport expansion are their weapons.
On the TV screen, a
middle-aged man with a cap on
was giving out leaflets to
passers-by, many of whom were
motorcyclists, at a crossroads in
Phu Nhuan District, HCM City.
It was Sunday morning, March 9.
The leaflets were about latest
government regulations
on enforcing traffic orders, and the man who was distributing them was
Dao Dinh Binh, Minister of Communications and Transport and chairman
of the National Committee for Traffic Safety Committee. The scene was
aired on the national TV channel.
On that day, Binh, HCM City leaders and thousands of Saigonese youth
volunteers handed out some 770,000 leaflets at 20 locations in the city.
The leaflets were among the 3.6 million printed for this special nationwide
campaign to raise the awareness of the general public about worsening
traffic orders in Vietnam. Two million leaflets are for motorcyclists, one
million for pedestrians and drivers of non-motorized vehicles, and
600,000 for car drivers.
Minister Dao Dinh Binh's appearance in HCM City, the country's busiest
location in terms of traffic and transport, may be symbolic of the
Government's renewed endeavor to restore traffic orders with an
unprecedented determination.
Motorbike boom bursts. In the early years of
Vietnam's embarkation on a market economy in
the 90s, some observers dubbed it "a
two-wheeled economy" because of the
popularity of this individual transport means in
the country. Several even compared
motorbikes in Vietnam with cars in the United
States.
However, ten years later, the exponential growth
of the number of motorbikes has become one of
the biggest current threats not only to traffic flow
in Vietnam's major cities but also to the national
economic development. By the end of last year,
Vietnam was home to 10.5 million motorbikes. With a population of nearly
80 million, every eight Vietnamese own a motorbike, approximately.
However, this figure may be misleading given the fact that 80% of the
Vietnamese population is living in rural areas. As a result, motorbikes are
numerous in Vietnam's metropolises where they are more affordable.
Take HCM City for example, the city has an official population of 5.5
million, less than one-fourteenth of the nation's total. But the city accounts
for roughly one-fourth of the total number of motorbikes in the country!
Late last year, the Government decided to put a cap on the number of
motorbikes by limiting newly registered units. A source said the Prime
Minister allowed only one million newly registered motorbikes in 2003,
one-third less than last year's figure.
Until 2002, Vietnam had imposed
quotas to control imported
motorbikes. However, since this
year onwards, the number of
motorbikes allowed to be
registered will replace the quota
regime. That means no matter
how many motorbikes are to be
brought in from abroad, the total
number of those to be sold will
not exceed one million.
According to Nguyen Van Khoa, chairman of the Vietnam Association of
Bicycles and Motorbikes, the Government has set a ceiling of 13 million
motorbikes in Vietnam by 2005.
To enforce the ruling, the Government has set new regulations for
motorbike registration. Since January 28, 2003, only those who meet the
following conditions can register new motorbikes. In line with the new rule,
an applicant must have (1) no motorbike at the moment of registration; (2)
official residence; (3) a driver's license; and (4) insurance to be eligible
for registration.
On February 19, the Government promulgated
decrees 14 and 15 guiding detailed
implementation of some articles of the Law on
Overland Traffic and fines for violations of
overland traffic rules. These are two pivotal law
documents that help both raise public
awareness and enforce traffic regulations.
Efforts to raise the people's awareness of traffic
regulations and orders have also been made.
In major cities such as Hanoi, Danang and HCM
City, students are persuaded to choose other
transport means, such as buses, to go to school
instead of motorbikes. In Danang, the city's
chairman, Nguyen Ba Thanh, appeared on TV
to brief on and explain the decision. He announced that the first to bear
administrative responsibility if a student breaks traffic laws is his or her
headmaster.
Buses are the first priority. As motorbikes have become a very popular
transport means, there must be another system to replace it. The
substitution is no doubt public transport systems. Officials have come up
with different solutions, namely, the underground, sky trains, and
streetcars. However, as far as the current financial capabilities are
concerned, bus systems are the most feasible choice.
An estimate indicates that if 50 people participate in traffic using
motorbikes, they will need an areas of 100 sq.m of road surface. But if
they go in a bus, only 28 sq.m of road surface is required. The margin is
72 sq.m.
HCM City has plans to invest in public transport systems, and thus
enabling them to meet over 10% of the transportation demand. For the
immediate future, some 20-25 bus routes will be added to boost the total
bus routes to 60. Huge investments will be pumped in to purchase 1,500
new buses, including the replacement of 1,300 existing old ones. The
substitution must be completed by the coming June. An ambitious plan
has also been devised to allow 10,000 students and workers to go to
school or work by bus. The city government has subsidized bus fares so
that a passenger now pays only VND1,000 (7 U.S. cents) each time they
go on a bus no matter how long the bus route may be.
Likewise, Hanoi is proceeding with a blueprint it expects to pave the way
for the development of the public transport business. In the third quarter of
this year, Hanoi will hold on a trial basis bidding for some bus routes to
attract new resources and investments. The new method will be further
expanded in the years to come.
Initial results. Vigorous government enforcement and resolves have
resulted in encouraging outcome. In an interview with the press, the Hanoi
Police vice chief, Nguyen Duc Nhanh, said, "Four weeks after the
application [of the new registration regime], the number of registered
motorbikes dropped sharply to 280 per day, down by 340 compared with
previously." Similar situations could be found elsewhere across the
country.
On the national scale, up to early March, traffic police impose fines on
almost 148,000 cases. Traffic violators had to submit VND13.8 billion.
The police temporarily detained more than 2,300 cars and 38,500
motorbikes. In February, 2,750 traffic accidents were reported nationwide,
which claimed the lives of 1,059 and injured 3,440. These were
year-on-year decreases of 21.3% in the number of accidents and 14.4%
in human losses.
It's very difficult to change a die-hard habit-driving a motorbike-in
Vietnam. Some even say their motorbikes are their legs. But for the sake
of the country's development, they have to change. So has society. The
"two-wheeled economy," which means everyone in society relies on
motorbikes, is now history.
The Saigon Times Weekly - March 22, 2003.
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