A resident of Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City-Mai, frequently awakens to thick fog covering the capital of Vietnam.
Mai, who requested a first name for her, called the “pollution in Hanoi alarming” according to Mai.
According to Mai, “exhaust fumes from motorbikes and buildings under construction” are the main culprits.
Petrol two-wheelers account for a significant portion of the reason Hanoi consistently has the worst air quality in the world with about seven million motorcycles crowded through the city’s streets.
Authorities intend to eject the vehicles from the city center right away.
By July 1st, 2026, Hanoi’s Ring Road 1, which circles the city, would be prohibited for all gasoline motorbikes from traveling within the city.
Mai, who already owns an electric motorcycle, said Hanoi residents are opposed to the ban.
She said, “People have two opposing viewpoints.” “Half consent to change, and half do not.”
Observers have questioned whether it would be possible to implement the ban within such a short amount of time, citing both the city’s limited public transportation options, a patchy electricity grid, and the city’s lack of charging infrastructure, as well as the logistical difficulties of blocking millions of drivers.
Some residents in Hanoi are concerned that the initiative will hurt the country’s poorest residents, and that it serves as a pretext to support Vingroup, the country’s largest conglomerate, and VinFast, its offshoot.
Hanh Nguyen, a PhD candidate from Vietnam and a native of Vietnam, told Al Jazeera that “many people believe this is an industry and development policy masquerading as an environmental protection policy.”
Nguyen continued, “it is quite concerning to consider that six million vehicles charge every day.”
“Our supplies are not really consistent, especially during the hot summer months, and it can put a lot of pressure on the electricity supply in Vietnam.”
In a wider effort to eliminate fossil fuel transportation, there is a July deadline to ban gasoline-powered motorcycles in central Hanoi.
According to Directive 20, the ban will include tighter gasoline vehicle controls, a new Ring Road 3 by 2030, and an expansion to Hanoi’s Ring Road 2 by January 2028.
Ho Chi Minh City, the country’s economic powerhouse, is the subject of a similar ban, and the Vietnamese government’s Ministry of Transport has set a 2030 goal for electric vehicles and motorcycles.
Although experts and locals are both concerned about air pollution, many observers have been shocked by the ban’s shortcoming.
Nguyen said, “My first impression was that this was very rushed.”
“I’ve seen a lot of reactions, and generally speaking, I don’t think they’re very positive because that announcement came so suddenly.”
Nguyen Khac Giang, a visiting fellow from Vietnam at the Singapore’s ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, cited concerns about the inconvenient electricity supply in northern Vietnam, as well as the lack of charging infrastructure for EVs, and the lack of public transportation.
According to Giang, “It’s just a mess if you look at the picture all the way.”
It’s really challenging to make it happen in a very short amount of time.
Giang cited the 2023 summer, when factories were forced to shut down and “caused a lot of turbulence for the population” in Hanoi and the surrounding northern provinces.
Without proper preparation, I believe the Vietnamese electricity system would suffer as a result of this very quick green transformation.
While Vietnam’s air pollution is a significant issue and causes 70, 000 deaths annually, according to the World Health Organization, some experts believe that taking the issue seriously requires a more holistic approach than the government’s.
Only half of Hanoi’s deadly fine particulate matter, or PM 2.5, comes from inside the city itself, according to Ngo Tho Hung, an expert on urban air quality and a long-time resident of Hanoi.
According to Ngo, “Fifty percent of those hazardous particulates come from outside the urban core, with emissions from informal recycling villages and field burns during crop rotations being the main sources,” she told Al Jazeera.
To achieve significant and lasting results, the motorbike ban must be combined with regional and national air quality management plans.
The cost of electric bicycles for low-income residents of the city is another major issue.
The Hanoi Department of Construction proposed financial assistance packages for residents switching to electric bikes following the July 12 directive.
In addition to financial assistance ranging from 3 to 5 million Vietnamese wong ($114-$119), the city would pay 100% of the registration and license issuance fees for new electric motorcycles.
The ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute’s Giang said, “It’s only $200, but an electric bike typically costs around $1,000.
It’s more than just a vehicle, it says. It is a benefit for some people. Not everyone will have enough money.
In Hanoi, where tens of thousands of people work for ride-hailing and delivery services, are especially dependent on their motorcycles to make a living.
It was already difficult to make ends meet, according to a driver for the taxi and delivery company Grab in Hanoi.
The driver, who declined to be identified, told Al Jazeera, “Some drivers can’t even earn enough to pay for basic meals or support their families.”
The change would burden the poor, according to Wendy, a manager of apartment rentals in Ho Chi Minh City who requested anonymity.
She told Al Jazeera, “I have money, so I can be flexible.” However, “Many poor people don’t know how to live if this policy is implemented.”
Enforcement will also present challenges, despite the obstacles that will be overcome by authorities to implementing the ban next year.
A doctor in Hanoi remarked that he was “completely opposed to giving up gasoline motorbikes.”
He demanded anonymity from Al Jazeera and said it will lead to “social chaos.”
Nguyen of ANU said it’s difficult to imagine how smoothly the ban would be enforced.
How will a city with ten million people implement such a significant ban? She questioned how the authorities would determine which motorcycles are electric and which are gasoline.
“I have no idea how to put it into practice effectively,” he said.
Vingroup has also received criticism for the motorcycle ban.
Vingroup, which was founded by Pham Nhat Vuong, the richest man in the nation, owns several EV offshoots, including the electric taxi and ride-hailing service Xanh SM and the electric charging infrastructure company V-Green.
In the coming months, V-Green announced that it would expand to Indonesia and the Philippines, with the intention of doubling the number of charging stations to one million over the next three years.
Netizens have voiced criticism of Vingroup since the ban’s announcement, implying without any proof that the conglomerate is responsible for it.
According to ANU’s Nguyen, “It’s a major concern that I have seen on social media in Vietnam.”
There is a “certain risk of cronyism” among the “no concrete evidence that VinFast was behind this policy initiative,” according to Giang.
He continued, “It will require a lot of capital from the people themselves.”
