The Hanoi People's Committee has just submitted a document and draft resolution to the City People's Council on regulating low emission zones. According to the Capital Law 2024, low emission zones are areas identified to limit vehicles that pollute the environment.
Hanoi plans to implement according to the following roadmap: From July 1, 2026, the pilot low-emission zone will be applied in some areas in Ring Road 1 (including 9 wards of Hai Ba Trung, Cua Nam, Hoan Kiem, O Cho Dua, Van Mieu - Quoc Tu Giam, Ba Dinh, Giang Vo, Ngoc Ha, Tay Ho).
From January 1, 2028, the city will implement low emission zones in Ring Road 1 and some areas in Ring Road 2 and above (14 wards, including 9 wards in Ring Road 1 and 5, Lang, Dong Da, Kim Lien, Bach Mai, Vinh Tuy wards).
From January 1, 2030, the city will implement a low-emission zone in Ring Road 3 and above, including 36 wards and communes. Including 14 wards in Ring Road 1 and 2 and 22 new communes of Phu Thuong, Xuan Dinh, Nghia Do, Cau Giay, Yen Hoa, Thanh Xuan, Khuong Dinh, Dinh Cong, Phuong Liet, Tuong Mai, Hoang Mai, Vinh Hung, Long Bien, Phuc Loi, Viet Hung, Bo De, Phu Dong, Dong Anh, Thu Lam, Phuc Thinh, Vinh Thanh, Noi Bai.
From 2031 onwards, areas in the area must meet one of the criteria for implementing low emission zones.
The Hanoi People's Committee proposed to apply a number of traffic organization measures to motor vehicles using fossil fuels and motor vehicles that pollute the environment.
Do not make new investments and register newly to control vehicles using fossil fuels when discharging old vehicles that have expired, especially vehicles owned by the organization.
Prohibit the circulation of trucks with a total weight according to the design determined in the Vehicle Inspection Certificate of over 3,500kg using fossil fuels.
Limit and prohibit cars that do not meet level 4 emission standards from circulating in low-emission zones according to time frames/time points or areas.
For motorbikes and mopeds using fossil fuels, the Hanoi People's Committee proposed to ban motorbikes and mopeds from operating on the application software platform to support transportation connectivity in low emission zones.
At the same time, prohibit motorbikes and other motorbikes from circulating in low-emission zones according to time frames/time points or areas, as proposed by the Hanoi People's Committee.
In the immediate period, the Hanoi Department of Agriculture and Environment proposed a plan to "ban motorbikes and other motorbikes using fossil fuels from circulating in low-emission zones according to time frames/time points or areas".
The time frame/time, areas for banning motorbikes and mopeds will be specified in the Low Emission Zone Project for each area, and submitted to the Hanoi People's Council for approval according to regulations.
Speaking to Lao Dong Newspaper, Associate Professor, Dr. Vu Thanh Ca - Senior Lecturer at Hanoi University of Natural Resources and Environment said that vehicles using fossil fuels are a major source of pollution in the capital today.Therefore, the policy of reducing and banning vehicles from using gasoline, gradually switching to green, environmentally friendly vehicles is a completely correct direction.
However, the gradual reduction of gasoline motorbikes also means the rapid development of the public transport system.This is a prerequisite.Through research and teaching practice, he realized that not only do people not want to give up gasoline motorbikes, but simply because they do not have a suitable replacement choice.Many people are willing to use public transport if this system is convenient enough.
The Hanoi urban transport network has been invested in upgrading and building new ones in recent times, but has not yet achieved the planned targets. Public transport is still too small compared to actual demand, the waiting time between trips is too long, while the connection between routes is still disjointed, not creating an effective network.
Associate Professor Vu Thanh Ca believes that the transformation needs to be planned in detail, implemented step by step, have a methodical roadmap, have a clear scientific basis and ensure the companionship of policies to achieve environmental goals while still ensuring social security.
