On the sidelines of a Hanoi People's Council meeting on April 9, Nguyen Duc Chung, chairman of Hanoi People's Committee said the motorbike ban was just one of the measures proposed by the local Department of Transport to ease congestion last July.

The news that Hanoi would ban motorbikes was only the private opinion of the Director of Hanoi Department of Transport Vu Van Vien. The proposal had no official approval.

According to Chung, the use of motorbikes in Hanoi was very high and any decision would need to consider the average incomes of Hanoi residents. Hanoi has about 6 million motorbikes so the authorities must research carefully before applying the ban on any streets or districts.

The plan must also gather public opinion. More importantly, the public transport system must be good enough to meet travel demand. Chung suggested raising awareness and having measures to encourage people to walk if they only want to travel from 1km to 1.5km.

"We'll review and publicise everything about the plan. The previous news was only speculation and the private opinions of the director of Hanoi Department of Transport," Chung said.