Overloaded traffic infrastructure
With the rate of increase in personal vehicles (cars, motorbikes) each year from 4%-5%, while transport infrastructure is not developing in time, traffic congestion in the central areas of Hanoi, especially during peak hours, is still serious. According to a report from the City People's Committee, the city currently has 37 congestion points and 5 new points arising from 2025. This causes difficulties in maintaining traffic order and seriously affects the living environment of people.
In an effort to solve this situation, the Hanoi City People's Committee has proposed to increase the temporary fee for using roads and sidewalks on key routes. The new fee level will be adjusted to reflect the actual use value of the streets, especially in the inner city area where there is high traffic density.
Notably, the highest fee is applied in the core urban area and level I conservation area such as streets: Dinh Le, Ly Thai To, Tran Hung Dao, Hang Dao, Hang Ngang, Quan Su... For cars, the expected fee increases from 240,000 VND to 400,000 VND/m2/month.
On streets in Ring Road I but outside the core urban area, the proposed fee is increased from 150,000 VND to 360,000 VND/m2/month, equivalent to 2.4 times higher than currently - the highest increase in the draft.
The area from Ring Road I to Ring Road II is expected to increase from 80,000 VND to 160,000 VND/m2/month; the area from Ring Road II to Ring Road III increases from 60,000 VND to 120,000 VND/m2/month.
Hanoi City People's Committee emphasized: "Adjusting the temporary fee for using roads and sidewalks both contributes to limiting traffic flow in the inner city to overcome traffic congestion, especially in areas with high vehicle density during peak hours, and contributes to regulating inner-city traffic flow, limiting traffic congestion, reducing environmental pollution, and gradually limiting the "habit" of using personal vehicles, encouraging the use of public transport to improve the efficiency of public transport vehicles".
This is also part of the city's long-term strategy to build a green and smart transportation system, in line with Hanoi's sustainable development roadmap to 2030. The Resolution also emphasizes encouraging businesses to build modern parking lots, reducing pressure on static traffic in the city.
Still wondering
According to statistics, before implementing the 2-level local government model, localities in Hanoi licensed the temporary use of roads and sidewalks in 352 locations with a total area of more than 43,600m2. Revenue from fees for temporary use of roads and sidewalks increased year by year, from more than 42 billion VND in 2022 to more than 51 billion VND in 2024. In the first 10 months of 2025, revenue reached about 42 billion VND.
Regarding this proposal, many opinions believe that it is necessary to carefully consider to harmonize the goals of urban management and people's lives, Mr. Le Van Thinh - former Head of Inspection Department 1, State Authority for Construction Quality Inspection (Ministry of Construction), said that sidewalks must first prioritize pedestrians, and should not be abused for business or parking.
According to Mr. Thinh, increasing sidewalk rental fees may cause parking fees to increase accordingly, and in the end, people will have to bear the costs. In addition, many parking spots currently occupy a large area for pedestrians. "Hanoi should only take advantage of some streets with low pedestrian density such as Quan Su area near K Hospital or Da Tuong street to arrange parking spots, and at the same time encourage people to use public transport when entering the central area" - Mr. Thinh shared.
Sharing the same view, Mr. Nguyen Van Loc (resident of Hang Bun street, Hanoi) said that the current popular motorbike parking price in Hanoi is 5,000 VND/turn, even higher in many places. If sidewalk usage fees are increased, parking fees may continue to increase, creating more spending pressure for people.
Meanwhile, journalist Nguyen Ngoc Tien (Hanoi cultural researcher) believes that leasing sidewalks in Hanoi is not a new issue. Since the beginning of the 20th century, many streets with wide sidewalks such as Ngo Quyen, Dinh Tien Hoang, Le Thach... have been leased for coffee business and revenue is used for sidewalk maintenance.
However, when land rents increase, service prices in that area also increase accordingly and people will be directly affected. People with average incomes can limit parking or shopping in the central area due to high costs.
Also according to Mr. Tien, Hanoi City needs to calculate fees appropriate to people's actual income, avoiding creating additional social pressure or causing business operations to fall into a state of lack of customers. "To limit personal vehicles, first of all, it is necessary to strongly develop public transport such as trains and buses so that people have more choices to move to the central area" - Mr. Tien said.
