Under the plan which is expected to be submitted to the municipal people’s committee, the department will set up 87 toll booths on belt roads for the fee collection from 2025. The booths will operate from 5 am to 9 pm every day.
Traffic congestion in Hanoi
According to Thanh, the toll is necessary for Hanoi to help ease traffic congestion, but currently, the city’s public transport can only meet 20 percent of travel demand. The rate should be at least 40-50 percent before the fee collection is imposed.
So, besides bus system development, Hanoi needs to finish metro projects, Thanh added.
“Only when public transport is ensured, should private vehicles be restricted from going into the city centre. At present, just two metro projects in Hanoi are being conducted, the Cat Linh-Ha Dong and Nhon-Hanoi Station lines. It is unworkable for the city to start charging cars entering central areas from 2025,” he noted.
Nguyen Xuan Thuy, former director of the Transport Publishing House, cities which have more than one million people need to develop metro projects, meanwhile, Hanoi and HCM City have up to more than 10 million people but have built only 1-2 metro lines until now.
“Hanoi congestion toll was discussed 4-5 years ago and it was opposed by experts,” Thanh said.
Bui Danh Lien, Chairman of the Hanoi Transport Association, recommended that Hanoi should carefully consider the establishment of 87 toll booths. For instance, the fee collection should be connected to online banking or credit and debit cards, instead of using manual methods which can cause traffic jams.
The city should focus on metro and bus system development by 2030 before imposing the fees. It is important for the city to build parking lots so that people can park and ride on public transport.