On a recent trip to Saigon, the best advice I received about getting around the city during the 6PM rush was, “Don’t make plans before 8PM.” This was advice well heeded.  More often than not, during my stay in Saigon, I chose to stay in rather than face the gauntlet of motorbikes, cyclos, buses and cars that flood the streets every evening.

As the population grows, it is clear Saigon needs to take steps to alleviate the challenges of transporting over 7 million people around the city.  Census reports show the city’s population to be 7.1 million and growing by 200,000 annually.  If current trends continue, that would put Saigon’s population on par with New York City by the end of the decade.

A comparable city in size and growth to Saigon is Bangkok, which saw a similar rise in population during the 80s and 90s and is now in the midst of notorious traffic problems.  As the Thai economy has grown in the past twenty years, so has the demand for private automobile ownership.  The city saw motor vehicle registration rise 40% in the past decade with an estimated 3.2 million private automobiles and 2.2 motorbikes on the road as of 2007.  And what is the economic cost of all these vehicles on the road?  A reported $275 million per year, and that was only as of 1994; the problem has surely worsened since then.

The situation in Saigon could be headed for a similar fate.  Studies have shown average vehicle speeds during rush hour have fallen nearly 40% in the past six years.  As of 2009 there were around 4 million motorbikes in the city representing 90% of the traffic, while buses (currently the only mode of public transportation) only account for 6.3% of similar traffic.

The biggest project to ease traffic is the metro system currently in construction.  In 2008, the Management Authority for Urban Railways (MAUR) announced plans for a six line metro system that would be a mix of light rail and underground rail lines.  The proposed Line 1 will run underground from Ben Thanh Market to Ba Son Shipyard and then continue east through district 2 on an elevated track.  The planned completion for the line is 2015.  Line 2 will run in a northwest-southeast direction, primarily connecting Ben Thanh Market with a bus station near Tan Son Nhat Airport.  The plan calls for a significant portion of the line to be built underground with operation to begin in 2016.

Four other lines have been proposed and are in various stages of planning.  Major lines include Cholon and Binh Tan district to the west of Ben Thanh Market, as well as a line from Tan Binh district (near Tan Son Nhat Airport) to Binh Thanh district.

Plans are also in place to improve and invest in the existing transport infrastructure.  The bus system will see increased reliability through specialized bus lanes, timed traffic flow systems, and GPS tracking.  Roads will be improved and widened to handle the inevitable increase of motorbike, bus and other vehicular traffic.  Strategies to section off traffic (right turns, one-way streets) will hopefully improve overall flow and ease congestion at bottlenecks across the city.

As Saigon continues to grow through the next decade, the city needs to heed the questions asked of cities such as Bangkok and Sao Paolo.  With a burgeoning middle class will Saigon be able to handle an increase in private car ownership?  Are ridership numbers for the metro and bus lines realistic?  What are the health and environmental impacts of the population and traffic increases?  These are serious questions Saigon needs to address with its population problem.  The hope is that Saigon can address these issues so the growth of the city will be a true benefit to all its citizens.

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Additional References: Case Study of Bangkok | UN Habit: Bangkok’s strategy to tackle air polution

Image from Flickr

In my opinion, Vietnam has the most “amazing” traffic in the world.  If you have not had a chance to visit the country before, I could feel very safe to bet $100 that you cannot cross any major street in Saigon or Hanoi by yourself in a 15-minute period.  Traffic signs are unclear; not everyone obeys the laws; and there aren’t any laws “set in stone” to follow.  Sometimes you would see a sign that says, “Go Straight on Red Light” !?…

There is a reason behind using this sign to help keeping the traffic flow, but I’ll let you find out when you visit the country if you are still confused or curious.  You might get a chance to see this unique vehicle that only exists in this lovely country:

Because of the crazy traffic conditions and overpopulation in the major cities, the government just approved a large project to build an underground and above-ground bullet train system in Hanoi.  The train will connect many points of interest from the central of the city and include Noi Bai airport. This will hopefully lead to improvements in the overall traffic conditions for this busy city.

With primary help from a Japanese corporation, Itochu Inc, this train can run with an average velocity of 40 mph, which is considered to be very fast compared to the average speed of all vehicles operating in the metro areas of Vietnam.  The project is planned to be complete by 2014.

Along with the train project, the government also approved building 18 cross bridges for pedestrians in Hanoi city.  Four bridges have been completed and in use; the remaining bridges will be completed in June 2010.  Hopefully, with this new cross-bridge system installed, you will be able to cross the streets in less than 15 minutes, and I will lose my 100 bucks.