Ho Chi Minh City is preparing to allocate around VND7 trillion (US$280 million) annually to make bus travel free across the city, with authorities aiming to finalize the policy by late April.
Regarding emissions, there’s been a push to electrify bikes, but the vinfasts are kinda bad and a new Dat Bike costs >3x a Honda Wave, and Honda’s electric Icon e barely does 30 mph and even for families that get the things, the power grid and fire safety situation is not great.
Vietnam lol. These people ride bikes every day since childhood, and brushing against moving bikes as you cross through school of slow moving motorbikes is just normal. They’re shockingly comfortable with bikes and traffic.
Weirdly, riding a bike in HCMC/Hanoi traffic is infinitely less stressful than driving a car in America, despite traffic rules being largely vibes based. People are selfish, but not spiteful if that makes any sense. You’ll get cut off if you give too much room, but at the same time, cars stop at lights to leave lanes for bikes to filter to the front. I’ve literally never seen someone acting out of roadrage, brakechecking, not letting people by, etc.
Literally any kind of headwear qualifies, so in the countryside, you get grandma wearing her rice hat on the bike like it’s a helmet. In the city, plastic baseball caps with no padding aren’t uncommon.
I guess, I just see a lot that can be done to improve the situation regarding motorbikes before you start talking about getting them off the road.
I mean, yeah, but what’s the downside to getting them off the road, with free public transport? Especially with the issues you names with electric bikes. We need to be moving away from personal vehicles, they’re super unsustainable, and free public transport is a great way to do that without infringing on anyone’s freedom to choose to ride if they want to.
We need to be moving away from personal vehicles, they’re super unsustainable
Nah, its literally just the cars. You can fit like 10 bikes and even more bicycles in the space of 1 car. That means you don’t need super wide roads, a quarter of your city destroyed to build parking lots, even traffic signaling can be removed if traffic is slow enough since bikes just go around pedestrians.
I mean, yeah, but what’s the downside to getting them off the road, with free public transport?
None at all, I support this, I just want them to do something about all the cars. They’re a danger both on an individual and societal level.
Nah, its literally just the cars. You can fit like 10 bikes and even more bicycles in the space of 1 car. That means you don’t need super wide roads, a quarter of your city destroyed to build parking lots, even traffic signaling can be removed if traffic is slow enough since bikes just go around pedestrians.
Fair, I was thinking specifically of fossil fuel bikes (which are unsustainable and afaik make up the vast majority of motorbikes in Vietnam). You will still need signals for public transport which will be necessary for the foreseeable future.
None at all, I support this, I just want them to do something about all the cars. They’re a danger both on an individual and societal level.
Free public transport is one of the best positive ways to take cars off the road, I would imagine (although we need to be looking at negative ways, too - preferably not based on extra cost, but at this point it just needs to happen no matter what).
Free public transport is one of the best positive ways to take cars off the road, I would imagine (although we need to be looking at negative ways, too - preferably not based on extra cost, but at this point it just needs to happen no matter what).
People paying to own a car in Vietnam aren’t concerned with practicality and cost as much as status, especially if it’s an import. The average 110cc Honda Wave carries more stuff than the average Ford Ranger and gets there faster. Sadly those same people have disproportionate influence on government policy because money. These are the kind of petty bourgeosie who block adding a bus lane to super-wide roads because it doesn’t serve them personally. The only way to take cars off the road in vietnam is to ban them or make them too expensive.
Fair, I was thinking specifically of fossil fuel bikes (which are unsustainable and afaik make up the vast majority of motorbikes in Vietnam). You will still need signals for public transport which will be necessary for the foreseeable future.
Yeah, displacing ICE bikes with electrics is its own battle. It’s astonishing they’ve made any progress at all given how difficult it is to get any major infrastructure project done in the cities and how mismanaged Vinfast Group is.
I’ll be back over there when the ICE bike ban in Hanoi kicks in in a couple months , it’ll be interesting to see if we get more electrics, bicycles, and bus ridership, or if people switch to cars, which aren’t being restricted until next year instead.
I mean, yeah, but what’s the downside to getting them off the road, with free public transport?
i’ve had several situations where riding a push bike was faster or more convenient than the public transit available. it depends on how your trip interacts with the routes and service times. The ride might be free but your time isn’t.
i’ve also had a situation where gas and prorated costs for driving was cheaper than two train tickets, free would’ve helped us if there was a return run before the next morning.
I guess, I just see a lot that can be done to improve the situation regarding motorbikes before you start talking about getting them off the road. Nearly all motorbike fatalities in VN involve texting while riding, riding in the wrong direction, alcohol, and/or cars. These aren’t unsolvable problems.
Regarding emissions, there’s been a push to electrify bikes, but the vinfasts are kinda bad and a new Dat Bike costs >3x a Honda Wave, and Honda’s electric Icon e barely does 30 mph and even for families that get the things, the power grid and fire safety situation is not great.
wtf people are texting on motorcycles??
Vietnam lol. These people ride bikes every day since childhood, and brushing against moving bikes as you cross through school of slow moving motorbikes is just normal. They’re shockingly comfortable with bikes and traffic.
Weirdly, riding a bike in HCMC/Hanoi traffic is infinitely less stressful than driving a car in America, despite traffic rules being largely vibes based. People are selfish, but not spiteful if that makes any sense. You’ll get cut off if you give too much room, but at the same time, cars stop at lights to leave lanes for bikes to filter to the front. I’ve literally never seen someone acting out of roadrage, brakechecking, not letting people by, etc.
At least they’re all wearing helmets
Literally any kind of headwear qualifies, so in the countryside, you get grandma wearing her rice hat on the bike like it’s a helmet. In the city, plastic baseball caps with no padding aren’t uncommon.
I’ve seen this so much in China too
I mean, yeah, but what’s the downside to getting them off the road, with free public transport? Especially with the issues you names with electric bikes. We need to be moving away from personal vehicles, they’re super unsustainable, and free public transport is a great way to do that without infringing on anyone’s freedom to choose to ride if they want to.
Nah, its literally just the cars. You can fit like 10 bikes and even more bicycles in the space of 1 car. That means you don’t need super wide roads, a quarter of your city destroyed to build parking lots, even traffic signaling can be removed if traffic is slow enough since bikes just go around pedestrians.
None at all, I support this, I just want them to do something about all the cars. They’re a danger both on an individual and societal level.
Fair, I was thinking specifically of fossil fuel bikes (which are unsustainable and afaik make up the vast majority of motorbikes in Vietnam). You will still need signals for public transport which will be necessary for the foreseeable future.
Free public transport is one of the best positive ways to take cars off the road, I would imagine (although we need to be looking at negative ways, too - preferably not based on extra cost, but at this point it just needs to happen no matter what).
People paying to own a car in Vietnam aren’t concerned with practicality and cost as much as status, especially if it’s an import. The average 110cc Honda Wave carries more stuff than the average Ford Ranger and gets there faster. Sadly those same people have disproportionate influence on government policy because money. These are the kind of petty bourgeosie who block adding a bus lane to super-wide roads because it doesn’t serve them personally. The only way to take cars off the road in vietnam is to ban them or make them too expensive.
Yeah, displacing ICE bikes with electrics is its own battle. It’s astonishing they’ve made any progress at all given how difficult it is to get any major infrastructure project done in the cities and how mismanaged Vinfast Group is.
I’ll be back over there when the ICE bike ban in Hanoi kicks in in a couple months , it’ll be interesting to see if we get more electrics, bicycles, and bus ridership, or if people switch to cars, which aren’t being restricted until next year instead.
i’ve had several situations where riding a push bike was faster or more convenient than the public transit available. it depends on how your trip interacts with the routes and service times. The ride might be free but your time isn’t.
i’ve also had a situation where gas and prorated costs for driving was cheaper than two train tickets, free would’ve helped us if there was a return run before the next morning.