VietNamNet Bridge – The number of registered motorcycles across the country continues to increase rapidly, amounting to over 39 million units now and exceeding the number targeted for 2020 by three million vehicles approved last February.

A quick increase of motorcycles is one of the main causes of traffic congestion in big cities.

At a web conference on traffic safety with 63 provinces on Tuesday, Nguyen Hoang Hiep, vice chair of the National Traffic Safety Committee said the number of newly-registered vehicles continued to rise strongly now. This year to date, over 212,000 new motorcycles have been registered.

In HCMC, as of the end of January 2014, there were nearly six million motorcycles, excluding more than a million bikes from nearby provinces circulating daily in the city.

For automobiles, in the first two months of the year, up to 10,445 new vehicles were registered nationwide, taking the total number to over 2.17 million units. According to the planning of the transport sector, the whole country will have about 3.5 million automobiles by 2020.

Thus, compared with the planning by the Government approved in February 2013, the volume of motorcycles has exceeded the target for 2020 by three million units.

The planning also specifies that the number of motorcycles will be restricted by administrative, economic and technical measures. Motorcycles will be used mainly in rural areas, where there is no public transport means.

The two biggest cities of the country, namely Hanoi and HCMC, are still unable to find solutions to limit the number of personal vehicles.

Recently, the Government requested five cities – Hanoi, HCMC, Hai Phong, Danang and Can Tho – to map out pilot projects to provide bicycle-for-rent service in the downtown area to encourage people to travel by public transport and reduce personal vehicles.

Source: SGT