Vietnam severely behind on public transport usage A report by property consultants Savills Vietnam said that the rate of people that use public transport in urban is the lowest in Southeast Asia. According to the report, which assesses the impacts of transport infrastructure on real estate markets, the rate of Hanoi and HCM City land allocated for transport infrastructure development is lower than that for other cities in the region.   Traffic jam on a street in Hanoi (Photo by VietnamNet)  Car sales in Vietnam have experienced an annual rise of 35% over the past five years and the rate is forecasted to be much higher by 2025 in Hanoi and HCM City. This is attributed to the country's economic growth and higher per capita income. Meanwhile, more people continue flocking to Hanoi and HCM City to live, while the transport infrastructure development remains limited, which has added more pressure to traffic problems in the two cities. Savills also indicated that parking fees in many central areas in Hanoi and HCM City Mức surpass regional cities like Bangkok, Manila or Jakarta. The overly-high costs are because of the limited parking spaces available in Hanoi and HCM City in contrast to the development of high-rise buildings. The rate of people who use means of public transport in Hanoi and HCM City is the lowest in the region as these two cities are now only in the first stages developing their urban metro rail links, a similar situation to which Bangkok went through in the 1990s. Savills also suggested that Vietnam should learn from Bangkok’s experiences in dealing with traffic problems, particularly metro development and air pollution.  The company added that public transport development, especially urban railway systems, would have positive impacts on the real estate market in cities. By Phuong Dung, dtinews.vn