[sustran] motorcycles transportation Vietnam

[Thien Phu Nguyen]

Hello everybody,
I'm Vietnamese from Ho Chi Minh City. I find it very interesting to join
Sustran forum. What you all mentioned about motorcycle transportation in
Vietnam is true but I'd like to provide you with more precise information of
the situation in Vietnam, particularly in Hanoi and HCM city. Here I'll talk
about three points : initial improvement of public transportation in Vietnam,
restriction of motorcycle use, personal view of a suitable transportation
pattern in the vietnamese context.
First of all, I must say that a lot of progress has recently been made. In
Vietnam compared to some years ago, as Craig Townsend said, the bus public
transportation is much better now. Up to now there are about 60 "model" bus
routes out of  100 existing bus routes in Ho Chi Minh city. In 2003, there
were 60 mil. passenger-trips on bus, or 3.2 times as much as the number of
passenger-trips in 2002. In Hanoi, there are 40 bus routes all of which are
the "model" ones. In 2003, according to the Hanoi bus company, 154 mil.
passenger-trips on bus have been made (this number need to be checked), or an
increase of 350% against 2002. Another good thing is that the bus for the
first time after many years can go inside the the Tan Son Nhat airport and
carry people to the city center. This is really a revolution because the
airport authorities with the support of the central government only gave the
monopoly to taxi service. Other good things have also been made as regards
bus fare (before 2004 a bus ticket cost 1 000 dong , or about 0.06 $, now 2
000 dong but this fare level is still cheap and accepted by most passengers),
service frequency, substitution of old bus by new ones.

Parallel to this, the authorities carried out in 2003 a restriction of
motorcycle use and tighten traffic rules. Registration fees related to buying
a motorcycle are considerably augmented. One person is allowed to buying only
one motocycle. A driver's licence is required for more than 50 cc
displacement and the under 18-years-old are not allowed to used motorcycle of
more than 50 cc displacement. Route policemen check more often driving papers
and are encouraged to fine severely those who violate traffic rules. 
All these things really contribute to improving the traffic situation in the
two cities in 2003. However, in order to make further improvements a lot of
things need to be done, especially how to reduce the accident rate caused by
motorcyclists. According to the Japanese Automobile Manufacturers
Association, motorbikes are responsible for 73% of all road accidents in
Vietnam. In Ho Chi Minh City alone, motorbike accidents make 1 000 deaths
every year. This situation is really worrying. There are certainly some main
causes of the very high rate of motorbike accidents in Vietnam. Firstly, the
government doesn't  impose compulsory helmet wearing, or more precisely, the
government did do it in early 2001 but encountered the opposition of the
majority of the population (!) (this is very strange in Vietnam I must say)
and it dare not apply the measure again. Secondly, the route policemen don't
apply strictly the traffic rules because they don't have any sense of
responsibility at all or because they are corrupted. Inspite all this fact, I
think that one cannot forbid totally the use of motorcycles but rather
restrict it as the vietnamese authorities have done and do something in such
a way that traffic regulations must be respected. 

In terms of travel patterns, my opinion is that it is necessary to have a
complementary between the public transportation and motorcycle transportation
and a balanced use of modes, as many experts and researchers recommended. It
is impractical and impossible to favor a certain mode of transportation in
cities. By the way, it is here pertinent to make clear two things : how to
make motorcycle transportation safe and which mode should be encouraged. It
is not because motorcycle transportation causes a lot of accidents that this
mode should be banned. The use of motorcycle for mobility is one thing and
the risk associated with using it is another thing. In this regard, I totally
share the opinions of Jonathan and Craig Townsend. We should look at the
whole picture. In Vietnam, motorcycle transportation is not only for poor
people but also for the big majority of the population. It is a very
convenient mode that provide a door to door transportation service. That
explains why people in Vietnam make more trips those in other cities. The
number of trips per person per day (including walking) in Ho Chi Minh City
and in Hanoi is 3.0 and 2.6 respectively compared to 2.2 in Manila; 1.7 in
Jakarta; 2.3 in Bangkok; 2.6 in Chendu; 2.3 in Tokyo (cf Second Seminar of
the Study on Urban Transport Master Plan and Feasibility Study in HCM
Metropolitan Area, ALMEC). Besides, it is should be noted that motorcycles
become a popular mode in Vietnam for two important reasons : it has been the
dream of the vietnamese for a long time since 1965 when the first Japanese
motorcycle (Honda) was imported in Saigon and because the public
transportation system collapsed both in Ho Chi Minh City and in Hanoi during
the 1980s. So, it is right to affirm that the use of motorcycle should be
continued but their usage must be strictly regulated and better conditions
created for the the safety of motorcycle riders and other mode users,
particularly pedestrians. I also wish that clean technology which is not very
expensive be applied in order to reduce as much as possible the pollution
level of motorcycles. If this can be done, I'll be strongly in favor of an
urban transportation pattern with the dominant role of motorcycles in
Vietnam.
In the medium and long terms, the government should restrict the use of
private cars as well. Where can we find more space if only 5% of the 2,3
millions of motorcycle users in Ho Chi Minh City switch to car usage, knowing
that road space cannot be infinitely expanded ? The situation of Bangkok and
other developing cities is a very good example that many and many experts and
researchers often bring forward in urban transportation conferences or
seminars organized somewhere in the world.
Best regards,
Thien Phu NGUYEN, Ho Chi Minh City Vietnam

PS : for further information on motorcycle transportation, I think it is
interesting to look at the recent research " A Comparative Study on
Motorcycle Traffic Development in some Asian Countries - case of Taiwan,
Malaysia and Vietnam" led by Dr. Hsu Tien-Pen at the website
www.easts.info/icra.htm.








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