Vehicles can be fined ranging from USD38 to USD57 if caught going into the bus lane on the Bus Rapid Transit corridor which is planned to operate from January 1.

The 14-kilometre route linking Kim Ma Station in Dong Da District and Yen Nghia Station in Ha Dong District is expected to take only 30 minutes.

Hanoi has planned to launch its high-speed bus route from January 1

The service runs through busy roads including Giang Vo and Lang Ha.

Hanoi has designed a separate bus lane with 21 stops located on the median strips of the streets within the route.

Under Government Decree 46 on traffic violation fines, vehicles can be fined between VND800,000 and VND1.2 million (USD38-USD57) if going into the lane for the high-speed bus route.

The lane has traffic signs and street lines while cameras are installed at bus stops along the route to detect violations.

Many doubt that the buses will reduce traffic congestion and instead believe that it will only worsen traffic jams on many of the busy streets it runs on.

Speaking with DTiNews, Doan Minh Tam, Former Director of the Institute of Transport Science and Technology, Vietnam has already spent a decade discussing the implementation of the high-speed bus service. “The biggest difficulty for Hanoi’s plan is having suitable separate lanes as they are too narrow,” Tam added.

“Hanoi will pilot the plan. If the trial is successful, we will open more routes. We’ll learn from the experience if it is a failure and consider that when implementing other routes later,” he noted.

A rapid bus route is only one small measure to ease traffic jams, but it can’t help the city to deal with major congestion, Tam said. The important thing was that local authorities have to do a far better job at urban planning, and set aside more land for transport infrastructure.

It would be difficult for Hanoi and HCM City to improve traffic if the city authorities simultaneously allow more and more high-rise buildings to be built in inner-city areas, Tam said.