Vietnam - Ha Noi may delay, trim road-use fees

VietNamNet Bridge – The Ha Noi Transport Association has drafted a proposal to postpone the collection of a road-use fee from most vehicle owners until next January.

Under the proposal, the road-use fee would be less than 60 per cent of the current rate suggested by the Transport Ministry.

The changes aim to help transport enterprises and local people avoid potential hardships as a result of the new fees.

Last week, the Government approved to impose road-use fees on motorists from June 1.

The ministry proposal suggested road-use fee of VND180,000-1,440,000 (US$9-70) per month for car and VND80,000-150,000 ($4-7.5) per year for motorbike.

Bui Danh Lien, chairman of the association said that if the fee were collected now, transport enterprises would face many difficulties due to the increasing cost of electricity and oil.

Transport enterprises must also complete the installation of black boxes, which cost VND7 million (US$336) each, before July 1, he said.

A fee exemption has been proposed for motorbike users who are wounded soldiers or people living in remote areas.

"It will take at least five years for transport infrastructure to be improved. Then we will be able to limit or ban motorbikes from travelling at rush hours," he said.

A proposal to ban taxis from travelling on certain streets during rush hours also needed to be considered because taxis were meant to transport passengers rather than be used as personal vehicles, Lien said.

The State was advised to list taxi as a public transport vehicle, which would prompt localities to build parking lots and taxi enterprises would benefit from a priority fee scale, he said.

Some vehicles have been removed from the personal fee list by the Transport Ministry's proposal to the Prime Minister.

The vehicles include cars owned by State-run administrative agencies, the military, police and foreign diplomatic organisations.

The transport ministry also agreed with the suggestion from the Ministry of Finance that fees for motorbikes will be collected six months later than those for cars.

Local authorised agencies will collect the motorbike fees.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News

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