Starting August 1, the HCMC government will increase the number of hours banning lightweight trucks from entering the downtown area to ease traffic congestion, according to a newly issued decision of the municipal government.

Many trucks travel on a section of Dien Bien Phu Street in Binh Thanh District

Lightweight trucks will not be allowed to enter the city’s central area from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. and from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. The current ban in the morning hours is from 6 a.m. to 8 a.m.

Meanwhile, the duration of the ban on heavy trucks will be shortened by two hours, to take effect between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. as opposed to the current ban lasting from 6 a.m. to midnight.

Trucks carrying oxygen tanks and vaccines to hospitals, food to schools and fresh water will be subject to a different regulation.

The decision notes that the downtown area is bordered by National Highway 1A in the north and west, Hanoi Highway and Mai Chi Tho and Dong Van Cong streets in the east, and Vo Chi Cong and Nguyen Van Linh streets and Phu My Bridge in the south.

Transport firms that operate in the city center during these hours are not required to submit ID cards, authorization letters, certificates of registry or business registration certificates to the municipal government for licenses. However, the owners of overloaded trucks will still need to submit these documents.

Moreover, truck owners will need to continuously share data on the travel time and routes of their vehicles to the HCMC Department of Transport.

In addition to the truck ban, the HCMC government will introduce a higher fee for cars parked on roadways in the city center from August 1. Cars parked on 23 roadways in Districts 1, 5 and 10 will be subject to a parking fee of VND20,000-30,000 per hour, instead of the current VND5,000.

Car owners can install the My Parking mobile app on their smartphones to pay the parking fee.

SGT