With 400,000 cars, accounting for over half of the total road area in HCM City, scientists warn without co-ordinated measures, including restrictions in the centre – traffic jams will get much more serious.

HCMC seeks gov’t permission for road price scheme

At a workshop on November 12 held by the HCM City Institute for Research and Development to discuss the Tien Phong Technology’s Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) system, scientists expressed their support for HCM City’s plan to collect fees from cars that travel to the city’s hub.

Lam Thien Quan, Tien Phong Company’s general director, said ERP is an effective measure to reduce the number of cars in the city’s centre by around 20 percent. He said when car owners have to pay fees, their awareness of traffic is enhanced. Fee collection will encourage use of public means of transport, curb traffic jams and benefit state budgets.

According to Quan, the ERP system has been used successfully in many countries including Singapore and the UK. The ERP will be used on trial in districts 1 and 3.

Dr. Pham Xuan Mai from the HCM City University of Technology said it is necessary to traffic jams blackspots and the reasons behind the jams before implementation.

Khuat Viet Hung, director of the Transport University’s Centre for Transportation Development and Consultancy, said that HCM City has around 3.6 million motorbikes, using 2.5 sq.m of road but 400,000 cars using up to 4.4 sq.m of rad.

Bui Xuan Cuong from the HCM City Department of Transportation said HCM City authorities assigned the HCM City Institute for Research and Development to consider the feasibility of this plan and the Tien Phong Company to research technology. Though the city has to collect scientists’ opinions and seek the people’s agreement, Cuong confirmed the plan would, at first, be experimentally implemented.

Cuong said besides this method, HCM City has many other solutions to develop systems for public transport to curb traffic jams.

Dr. Nguyen Trong Hoa, director of the HCM City Institute for Research and Development, said the institute will collect experts’ opinions to report to HCM City authorities.

Nguyen Van Thanh, vice chief of the Vietnam Road Administration, said he doesn’t know in detail HCM City’s plan to collect fee from cars but in this situation, HCM City’s solutions to prevent traffic jams should be supported.

“It is not good to restrict personal means of transport but in this circumstance, we have to bravely take solutions, even temporary solutions. “Thanh said.

According to him, cities in Vietnam have delayed amending their planning to allocate sufficient land for transport, causing more dangerous traffic jams. If they don’t amend plans traffic jams will not reduce.

In Hanoi and HCM City, there is a new phenomenon - low-rise apartment blocks are being replaced with high-rises, which cause even more traffic jams, Thanh said.

“It is a paradox that Vietnam is a poor country but the growth of personal cars, mainly expensive ones, is very high. We should consider the restriction of personal cars in some inner areas,” said Thanh.

VietNamNet/Tuoi Tre