Traffic jams cause Hanoi loss of USD600 million annually Traffic jams caused average annual loss of around VND12.8 trillion (USD600 million) for Hanoi, according to Nguyen Phi Thuong, Chairman of Transport Corporation Hanoi (Transerco) at a meeting of the municipal people’s council on July 3. According to Thuong, private vehicles were among the main reasons leading to Hanoi’s more serious air pollution and congestion.    Traffic jam on a street in Hanoi Statistics showed that up to 16,000 new motorbikes and 500 new cars are registered in the city every month. By late January this year, Hanoi had more than 5.5 million personal vehicles, including early 500,000 cars and more than five million motorcycles. The numbers are expected to increase to more than 7.3 million motorbikes and 1.3 million cars by 2025. He suggested that 70% of the city's traffic accidents were caused by private vehicles and greater awareness of road safety would be beneficial to reducing congestion the accidents caused. The city had to focus on public transport development, including speeding up construction of urban railway projects, he suggested. Hanoi Police Department recently claimed that up to 84% of local people agreed with the plan to tighten management and limit personal vehicles in the city. The police claimed 85% approved of a plan to limit personal vehicles on Ring Road 3 and an incredulous 90% supported a motorbike ban. The police survey also demanded better public transport. The police suggested they had issued over 15,000 questionnaires in 30 districts. By Quang Phong, dtinews.vn