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Vietnam's superior metropolis has a superior contamination problem, and nan authorities is superior astir doing thing astir it. According to AP, motorcycles and scooters pinch soul combustion engines will beryllium banned from nan soul metropolis successful little than a year, pinch further and wider bans to follow.
While bikes are typically considered pleasance vehicles present (and they are fun), motorcycles and scooters are nan family cars of Vietnamese cities. Hanoi unsocial has almost 7 cardinal bikes, compared to astir 1 cardinal cars. You'll often spot full families aboard a mini scooter. Anyone who's seen nan "Top Gear" Vietnam special astir apt remembers nan chaos and mayhem of small bikes perfectly everyplace pinch small respect for thing resembling postulation laws. (Of course, Jeremy Clarkson still grounded nan licence test.)
All those mini engines make a batch of smog, which has led to immoderate of nan worst aerial value successful nan world astatine times, arsenic good arsenic mediocre h2o quality. Vietnam Net reports that nan Hanoi People's Council first approved a scheme to shape retired state engines successful nan metropolis halfway successful 2017, but it has taken almost a decade to put this scheme into practice. Now that it's happening rather rapidly, residents are supportive, but besides concerned astir whether capable replacement proscription will beryllium disposable successful clip for nan prohibition to begin.
Too much, excessively soon?

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As of July 1, 2026, motorcycles and scooters pinch soul combustion engines will beryllium banned from Hanoi's Ring Road 1 and nan aged 4th area wrong of it. The authorities will allocate backing to amended nationalist proscription and to subsidize nan costs of switching to electrical bikes, which are still permitted. Improving nan EV charging infrastructure is simply a privilege arsenic well, including adding nationalist chargers to parking tons and residential buildings. Many person expressed concern astir whether nan electrical systems successful older flat buildings tin grip nan further load of charging up scooters, arsenic good arsenic whether each this tin beryllium done successful little than a twelvemonth earlier nan prohibition begins. However, residents stay mostly successful favour of it, recognizing nan request to respire cleanable air.
This is conscionable nan first shape of conveyance restrictions. Vietnam Net says that arsenic of January 1, 2028, nan prohibition will widen to see fossil-fueled cars and grow to see nan full area wrong Ring Road 2. Sometime successful 2030, combustion vehicles wrong Ring Road 3 will beryllium banned, though an nonstop day for this has not yet been set. Hanoi besides has large plans to cleanable up nan h2o proviso and support it that way, arsenic good arsenic prohibition single-use integrative successful businesses wrong Ring Road 1, which will besides grow successful nan future.
Hanoi's advancement will beryllium absorbing to watch complete nan adjacent fewer years. Their scooter civilization is arsenic ingrained arsenic our car culture, and specified a accelerated upheaval whitethorn show america what would hap present if we really stuck to EV mandates alternatively abandoning them.