The Limitation of the Smart Transportation & Policy Recommendations in Vietnam

Limitation

Despite having significant development in the smart transportation sector, the workforce still lacks highly educated and skilled technicians to operate and monitor the ITS. It is, therefore, necessary to invest in an education program about ITS for technician trainees so the future technical team is prepared for management after ITS fully goes into activation.

The people participating in ITS or the Vietnamese users also have to have knowledge about how to access information and how to get used to ITS in their everyday transport pattern. New technology is still limited in Vietnam, especially for the older generations with little to no knowledge about high technology. That is why it is completely necessary to educate and construct carefully and adequately users so they can efficiently use ITS.

With the ITS developing and being improved constantly, one of the most important matters to consider is its environmental benefits and the future of smart Environmental Sustainable Transports (EST). Before fully implementing ITS, the Vietnamese government firstly needs to develop EST and find pathways to more low-carbon, resilient transports suitable for Vietnam’s road traffic.

ITS measures such as lowering speed limits and adapting traffic signals although can improve air quality and reduce noise levels, but can only do so little with Vietnam’s traffic density, road traffic, and a number of private vehicles. With technologies improving air quality by burning fuel more efficiently in the short-term, at the moment we still have not found an effective solution in the long term with our current global warming and climate change situation. ITS is expected and is currently in research to control and manage traffic flow and infrastructure to reduce gas emissions and curb the use of private vehicles in Vietnam. Therefore, in order to let ITS fully develop and work in a Vietnamese environment, we must begin with the development of public transport-related infrastructure and the technologies implemented on them.

Vietnam, overall, is still lacking and not yet suitable to implement ITS into our transport system because of our slow development in the transport sector comparing to other East Asian countries (Korea, Japan, Singapore). There is also the overload of private vehicles, gas emissions, constant traffic congestions, and people’s behavior posing as a challenge to the development of smart transportation and ITS.

Policy Recommendations

First of all, about the lack of synchronous infrastructure, develop the BRT fast bus system but haven't upgraded corresponding common transport infrastructure, separate lanes for BRT buses have not been divided. It can be seen that the density of traffic participants has not been properly assessed before this system is operated, which leads to more serious traffic congestion. We suggest that the Vietnamese government can consider re-planning the transport system, upgrading and synchronizing its infrastructure. For example, the case of the city of Jakarta, Indonesia. From a city that was considered to have the "worst" transport system in the world, they put into construction and operation the first BRT system in Southeast Asia called TransJakarta. This is the longest fast bus system in the world with 12 main routes, more than 200 stops with an average speed during peak hours of 15-25km/h. According to analysts, TransJakarta uses a separate lane and is very clearly separated from the lane of other vehicles by a high concrete separator. With this advantage, they can minimize the encroachment on the BRT lane by other motor vehicles, ensuring stable movement without being affected by local congestion during peak hours.

Improving the bus stops capacity, having policies to adjust routes connecting to BRT, arrange more parking points for motorbikes near the key stations, research, and development infrastructure for non-motorized vehicles, towards focusing on the needs of traffic participants is no less important. In countries with successful BRT systems, they have comprehensively synchronized the whole system, with hundreds of bus stops to meet the demand of users. Therefore, it is necessary to consider improving the capacity and quality of the waiting rooms. Especially with the transport system of Vietnam, a country with a high number of private transport users, the motorbike parking points near the hub station will enable people to access and use the BRT system more conveniently.

A large proportion of citizens are hesitant to use the fast bus system because the distance they may have to travel from home to the bus station will require them to use their motorbike but the situation was quite inconvenient since they couldn't find safe parking at a low cost. This problem will be partially resolved if the large capacity stops can provide parking spaces around or under the basement.

Supportive policies from the government and departments are part of the plan, to improve efficiency and develop a stronger smart transport system requires the cooperation of each citizen. There has been an alarming issue which is a number of the people are unconscious and often encroaching on the BRT fast bus lane, making the circulation of the buses in this system became more difficult, causing the reality "called fast bus but moves slowly". Therefore, the government in general, the authorities in particular should have policies to introduce more severe forms and levels of penalties for those who intentionally enter the BRT lane to punish them and create a habit to other people not to encroaching.

Marketing should be used to improve the awareness of our population of the importance of building and developing a comprehensive smart transport system. From their understanding, each citizen will have their point of view and make contributions to build the transport system that is most suitable for their use. A realistic view of the current state of environmental pollution caused by vehicles in Vietnam is essential right now for every citizen to be aware of their responsibility for the upgrade. transportation system. Information provision may include such forms as announcing the traffic density on routes so that traffic users avoid entering or choosing another road; use warning signals to warn drivers to limit parking to reduce congestion and prevent air pollution hotspots.

Along with a strict management policy of how this system works, it is also important to apply artificial intelligence to connect users' needs with the transport system. We have seen the success of digital platforms in the transport sector such as Grab, Goviet, or Bee. If it is possible to combine the advantages of this system with smart transports, it will not only help to meet the travel needs of people but also maximize the applicability of both forms.

Last but not least, there has been a need for a more transparent policy for the allocation of funds to finance the smart transport system's infrastructure. It can be seen that the Vietnamese government has placed a lot of expectations, also spent huge amounts of money to invest in upgrading the smart transport system.

Nguyen Thi Hoai Linh

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References

• Dung Trong Nguyen and Yoshitaka Kajita (2018). "Traffic Congestion and Impact on the Environment in Vietnam: Development of Public Transport System - Experience from Actual Operation of Bus in Hanoi". Retrieved from https://www.hilarispublisher.com/open-access/traffic-congestion-and-impact-on-the-environment-in-vietnamdevelopment-of-public-transport-system--experience-from-actualoperation-2165-784X-1000317.pdf

• Dr. Jean-Paul Rodrigue (no date). "4.2 – Transportation and the Environment". Retrieved from https://transportgeography.org/contents/chapter4/transportation-and-environment/

• Kathleen Dematera, et al (2015). "Tracking Sustainable Transport in Vietnam: Data and Policy Review for Energy Efficiency and Climate Change 2015". Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/284323148_Tracking_Sustainable_Transport_in_Vietnam_Data_and_Policy_Review_for_Energy_Efficiency_and_Climate_Change_2015