Transport Ministry looks to reduce road transport The Ministry of Transport will restructure the transport sector towards reducing the market share of road transport and expanding that of other modes, according to a scheme for transport restructuring in 2016-2020 with a view to 2025 approved last week by the ministry.   Road transport is still dominant in the local transport market    From now to 2020, the transport market will achieve a more rational structure with a reduction in the share of road transport, whereas other modes will be promoted. By 2020, the market share of inter-provincial cargo transport by road will fall to only 54.4%, while rail, inland waterway, sea and air will take up 4.3%, 32.4%, 8.85% and 0.04% respectively. Meanwhile, the proportion of passenger transport by road will dip to 93.22%, versus rail with 3.38%, inland waterway 0.17% and airway 3.23%. Such proportions show substantial change compared to the current structures. Statistics of the Ministry of Transport indicate road still holds 95.75% of the passenger transport market, followed by rail with 1.14%, air with 2.05%, inland waterway with 0.19% and sea with 0.01%. As for freight, carriage by road still accounts for more than 70%, leading to an imbalance between modes of transportation.  Consequently, vehicles are overloaded, roads damaged, and road transport charges unreasonable. Therefore, the Ministry of Transport with the new restructuring plan deems it as necessary to bring down the share of road in both passenger and cargo transport and promote other modes of transport. Under the scheme, public passenger transport in Hanoi will meet 25% of travel needs, in which urban railways account for 4-5%.  In HCM City, some 20% of demand will be satisfied, with urban railways making up 4-5%. The ministry also aims to improve the quality of freight and passenger services to the regional level with appropriate charges, contributing to cutting logistics costs in Vietnam to about 15% of GDP. To achieve this objective, the ministry will further better policies and mechanisms, perfect the legal system, improve the quality and ensure the implementation of the plan. In addition, connection between different modes of transport, multimodal transport and logistical services will be promoted in an appropriate manner.  To effectively exploit the existing infrastructure system, priority will be given to the investment and upgrade of important works to create a breakthrough in transport development and carry out transport restructuring. SGT