The Department of Transport in Hanoi has officially made a proposal to the municipal People’s Committee, forbidding contract-based vehicles with less than nine seats from traveling on a number of urban streets.

Defined as a means of transport operated on an agreement, in the written form or via a smartphone app, between a licensed passenger transit business and a customer, contract-based vehicles include Uber and Grab cars.

Such vehicles will be prohibited on 11 streets within certain time frames.

During rush hours, from 6:00 am to 9:00 am and between 4:30 pm and 7:00 pm, their two way movement is not allowed on the streets of Giang Vo, Lang Ha, Le Van Luong, and Truong Chinh.

Uber and Grab cars and taxis are also banned the entire day on Phu Doan Street (one direction), Cau Giay Street and Xuan Thuy Street (two directions).

They are prohibited from running on Hang Bai Street between 7:00 pm and midnight on Friday and the weekend.

The proposal is awaiting consent from the People’s Committee but its legal effect has started, said Vu Van Vien, director of the Hanoi Department of Transport.

From January 2018, in a pilot program, the department began planting poles banning contract-based vehicles with less than nine seats between 6:00 am and 9:00 am, and from 4:30 pm to 7:00 pm on many streets.

Vien said that all Grab and Uber cars are required to stick a contract logo on the windscreen, and those failing to have the symbol while running on the designated streets will receive a twofold penalty from police, on the absence of the logo and the forbidden movement.

In the transport authority’s view, the decision shows the capital’s determination to unsnarl clogged urban roads.

The installation of car ban poles applies on a piecemeal basis, which means that they will be removed from the streets with reduced congestion, while roads with serious traffic jams will have more ban poles, according to Vien.

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