Vietnam’s traffic woes worsen amid crackdowns and holiday rush
Congestion spikes in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City as stricter traffic fines and Lunar New Year travel add to urban gridlock, reveals live traffic data
[HO CHI MINH CITY] Rising congestion in the streets of central Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City has sparked frustration in recent weeks, highlighting concerns over the unintended consequences of Vietnam’s crackdown on traffic violations, and the challenges of its strained infrastructure in keeping up with growing urban populations.
Traffic congestion in Vietnam’s two largest cities has surged dramatically in the seven days leading to Jan 17, with levels rising as high as 61 per cent in Hanoi and 70 per cent in Ho Chi Minh City compared with usual rates, according to live data from Dutch navigation firm TomTom reviewed by The Business Times.
Data from Ho Chi Minh City’s transportation department also indicates that congestion in the downtown area has increased by about 17 per cent year on year. Traffic on some key streets has risen by up to 11.4 per cent, state media reported on Jan 13.
This happens as Vietnam experiences a surge in travel demand leading up to the Lunar New Year, known locally as the Tet holiday from Jan 25 to Feb 2, as well as bids to improve traffic order through stricter penalties for violations.
Trieu Manh Dung, a Grab bike rider who has worked for the ride-hailing app since 2016, noted that a typical 30-minute ride in the downtown area of Ho Chi Minh City during peak hours now takes him an additional 15 to 30 minutes.
“People are complying more strictly with the rules for fear of stiff fines, which makes traffic jams at red lights more severe these days,” he said, adding that riders would refrain from rushing out of the congested streets by turning right at crossroads or riding on pavements.
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Under a new decree effective from Jan 1, 2025, Vietnam adopts higher penalties for 26 traffic offences.
Car drivers now face steep fines of up to 20 million dong (S$1,080) for failure to obey traffic signals, roughly triple the previous maximum fine.
In comparison, red-light violations only cost Singaporean car drivers as much as S$500, especially if transgression occurs within silver or school zones.
The new penalties for motorbike riders are even more controversial as they are deemed unaffordable for most Vietnamese, who use mainly two-wheelers for daily commutes.
Typical violations during rush hours such as running a red light, riding in the wrong direction, or encroaching on pavements, now face fines of up to six million dong.
This amount equals 78 per cent of the monthly income of an average Vietnamese worker in 2024, according to the latest income data provided by the country’s General Statistics Office.
“The fines are excessively high,” said Le Van Nam, a 29-year-old white-collar worker in Ho Chi Minh City, though he believed that it would be beneficial in the long run if everyone respects the laws and drives more carefully.
In the first seven days of this year, Ho Chi Minh City traffic police penalised 11,830 offenders for violations including illegal parking, exceeding the speed limit, not wearing helmets and drunk driving. They collected more than 42.5 billion dong from fines, about a third higher than that in the preceding week.
“But I think people’s attitude is just one part of the equation,” Nam added. “If traffic infrastructure were better, fewer people would be inclined to break the rules.”
Burdensome traffic
TomTom Traffic Index in 2024 showed that it took longer to travel in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City than in most other large cities in South-east Asia.
Car drivers spent an average of 30 minutes to travel 10 km in the central areas of the two cities last year. The same distance in large urban areas such as Indonesia’s Jakarta and Thailand’s Bangkok requires less than 27 minutes and 22 minutes, respectively. In Singapore, car drivers need just 20 minutes for such a drive.
However, TomTom assessed that the two cities in Vietnam, with each having about nine million people, had lower congestion levels in the central areas than most major cities in Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines. The ratio was measured by the average additional time lost to traffic compared with driving in free-flow conditions.
Heavy traffic forces individuals to spend excessive time commuting, causing substantial losses in economic productivity, and contributing to some of the worst air quality in the world.
A 2022 report from the Asian Development Bank noted that traffic jams would cost South-east Asian countries between 2 and 5 per cent of gross domestic product, primarily due to wasted time and increased transport expenses.
“A dense population allows greater efficiency and investment in transport systems. However, without careful planning, cities can find themselves congested with significant knock-on impacts,” the report noted.
In Hanoi, each car driver lost about 115 hours in 2024 if he or she drove a 10 km trip twice a day during rush hours. This figure was only less than those in Manila and Davao City of the Philippines in South-east Asia, TomTom’s data pointed out.
The capital of Vietnam has also been called among the world’s most polluted cities, according to the air quality information provided by AirVisual earlier this year.
In addition, most of the urban areas in South-east Asian countries – with the exception of Singapore – have not developed a well-connected public transportation network, leaving people no other choice but to crowd the streets with their private vehicles.
George Schooling, an expat working in the downtown area of Ho Chi Minh City, has decided to go to work these days via the city’s first metro line launched last December, instead of booking Grab cars as usual.
“If they can get three or four more (metro lines) done by 2035, that would be amazing,” he said, adding that he would continue to use the transport mode at least until April, given the current level of traffic jams.
“It probably takes me about the same time, but with less stress and frustration.”
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