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I remember visiting Hanoi, Vietnam in the mid-1990s. In those days, cycling was by far the dominant mode of transport in the city. You’d see the occasional smal
by Reason077 8y ago
I remember visiting Hanoi, Vietnam in the mid-1990s. In those days, cycling was by far the dominant mode of transport in the city. You’d see the occasional small motorcycle (scooter), but the streets were dominated by thousands upon thousands of cycles, everywhere you went. They must have been >95% of all traffic.
But now, over 20 years later, it’s all changed. Most of the cycles are gone to be replaced by a few cars, and incredible numbers of noisy, polluting combustion scooters.
Air quality has declined dramatically and city streets have become much less pleasant places to be.
The Vietnamese government probably sees this as progress? I think it’s a dystopian nightmare and a huge step backwards.
- dageshi 8y agoPerhaps people don't want to do that kind of physical exercise in a very hot and humid country if they don't have to?
- Reason077 8y agoHanoi is actually not particularly hot. Summer temperatures rarely get much above the low 30s C (~ 90F). For most of the year it's a very pleasant climate for cycling.
- nerdponx 8y agoThe Vietnamese government probably sees this as progress I'd like to hear one way or another from a Vietnamese person rather than speculate on this.
- eightysixfour 8y agoConsidering Hanoi is banning them all by 2030, I don’t agree with OP.
- Reason077 8y agoThat's great news if true! But is it a sales ban from 2030, or will they work to remove them all by 2030?
- ssnistfajen 8y agoIs "dystopian" now an euphemism for "anything I don't like"? Scooters are adopted because they are faster and require less physical exertion of force to get from point A to point B. Every developing economy goes through this phase where pollution worsens. It is still the better choice than the alternative where everybody lives in a "pastoral" (read: impoverished) society for the sake of impressing visitors who have never had to worry about the same problems.