CARS and motorbikes are banned from the old heart of Hoi An, a pretty tourist town in central Vietnam. When the country’s newish prime minister paid a visit, he obligingly travelled on foot. But as Nguyen Xuan Phuc strode manfully around, his motorcade crept along behind him. Outraged netizens disseminated photos of the incident, forcing Mr Phuc to apologise—a rare step for a senior official in Vietnam’s authoritarian regime.
Not many Vietnamese can afford a fleet of blacked-out saloons. But car-ownership in the Communist country is soaring, bringing worries about pollution and congestion. Sales of cars, vans and lorries rose 55% by volume in 2015, albeit from a low base; so far this year they are up another third. Most went to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, which between them house about half of Vietnam’s urban population.
Compared with its choked neighbours, Vietnam’s big cities are relatively uncongested. The country’s 40m or so motorbikes terrify pedestrians, but can thunder 10-abreast along thoroughfares as well as worm down dark alleyways. Cars, by contrast, block up the pipes. Only 9% of land in the heart of Hanoi is given over to primary and...Continue reading
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