KYODO NEWS - Jul 4, 2017 - 21:03 | World, All

Vietnam's capital Hanoi will ban motorbikes, a hugely popular means of transport, from its inner districts by 2030 in a bid to reduce traffic congestion and air pollution, its city council decided Tuesday.

The Hanoi People's Committee, on its website, said it passed a resolution to tackle the "alarming" increase in road traffic in the city, which has more than 5 million locally registered motorbikes and nearly 500,000 cars.

Between 2011 and 2016, the number of motorbikes has increased at an average annual rate of 6.7 percent -- and cars by 10.2 percent -- causing massive congestion, especially during peak hours and holidays.

Air pollution has also worsened considerably, as have the number of road accidents.

Without timely management measures, Hanoi Department of Transport Director Vu Van Vien warned in a presentation at the meeting, traffic congestion and environmental pollution in the rapidly growing city will become more and more serious in the future.

At current growth rates, there would be more than 6 million motorbikes and 800,000 cars by 2020, and 7.5 million motorbikes and 2 million cars by 2030, he said.

The 13-year road map calls for controlling the quantity and quality of vehicles allowed access to the inner city, limiting the scope of their operation through road space rationing, and boosting traffic management capabilities.

It also calls for improving bus services, including through promotion of bus rapid transit or BRT routes, and building alternative means of public transport such as urban light rail.

The population of Hanoi, currently at over 7 million, is forecast to reach around 9.2 million by 2030.

Elsewhere in Southeast Asia, Myanmar's commercial hub Yangon has long banned motorbikes from its inner city streets.