Hanoi taxi ban on 5 downtown roads continues

They are banned from entering sections of Phu Doan Street between Trang Thi and Hang Bong and between Cau Giay and Xuan Thuy and a section of Alley 897, Giai Phong Street.

The ban also applies to the section on Hang Bai Street between Tran Hung Dao and Ly Thuong Kiet between 7 p.m. and midnight on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.

Violations attract fines of VND800,000 (US$34) to VND1.2 million and a three-month revocation of driving licenses.

The restrictions came into effect in June 2019.

Back then the city also banned taxis from several other streets, including Giang Vo, Lang Ha and Le Van Luong, and on Chuong Duong Bridge going from Nguyen Van Cu toward Tran Nhat Duat.

But the Department of Transport has said it would consider a removal of the ban on these routes.

With the capital groaning under chronic traffic jams and air pollution, in 2019 it revived a shelved plan to ban motorbikes in downtown districts by 2030 as well as all private vehicles in places well served by public transport.

Since 2012 Hanoi has had various bans on taxis. There was a time when they were not allowed on 30 roads.

It has been reduced to 11 now.

In February this year the Hanoi Taxi Association called for lifting some of the bans, saying taxi operators had been “seriously affected” by Covid, and the number of taxis in the city has dropped to 10,000 from 19,000 before the pandemic.