At the meeting on the plan's implementation, Nguyen Hiep Thong, Deputy Director of the city’s Department of Education and Training, said, “The changes will not be a magic cure for the city's traffic problems. In summer, although local students are on vacation, Hanoi still experiences rush hour congestion."

Nguyen Thi Hai, Headmaster of the Hanoi School of Economics and Natural Resources, said, the office and school change is necessary to deal with the city’s current serious traffic jams; however, it could also cause certain other problems. 

Students of universities, institutes, colleges and vocational centres will see the biggest change, with morning classes beginning at 7am, and afternoon sessions to end at 7pm.

Under the new timetable, the students, along with employees will have to remain  at their schools 12 hours a day, making it difficult for them to attend to their family duties, Hai said. He asked, “Is it fair to pay salaries based on an eight-hour workday when they are actually staying for twelve?"

Bui Thi Ngan, Deputy Rector of the Hanoi University of Industry, was cited by VietnamNet as saying that, “Our university now has three academic shifts: the first from 7am to 12pm, the second from 12:30pm to 17:30pm and the third from 6pm to 9pm. Under the new plan our third shift will end too late.”

Nguyen Quoc Hung, Director of the municipal Department of Transport, said that the plan has been carefully considered and has got the Government’s approval. He added that, in order to meet the people’s travel demand after the hour change, the city will have to adjust the frequency of a number of bus routes in 10 inter-city districts, as well as the two districts of Thanh Tri and Tu Liem.

The city will also operate six new daily express bus routes from 6am to 7:30pm.

New timetables 

Morning classes for high schools, vocational training schools, colleges and universities will begin at 7am, with afternoon sessions ending after 7 p.m.

State office workers, and students between kindergarten and junior high school, will attend school from 8am to 5pm. 

Trading centres and other services, excluding the financial and banking sectors, will operate from 9am to 7pm.

Other groups, including factories and the military facilities, will retain their current working hours.

The change will apply to ten inner-city districts, as well as the two districts of Tu Liem and Thanh Tri.

The move is meant to spread out the congestion at peak hours of the day.