Why was Decision 32 on sidewalk usage fees in Ho Chi Minh City abolished?

(NLDO) - The abolition of Decision 32 of the City People's Committee on the management and temporary use of a part of the roadway and sidewalk in the city is to comply with current regulations.

The Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee has just issued a document assigning the Department of Transport and Public Works (GTCC) to preside over and coordinate with the Department of Justice to advise the city to abolish Decision No. 32/2023/QD-UBND regulating the management and temporary use of a part of the roadway and sidewalk in the city. The review must ensure compliance with the Law on Road Traffic Order and Safety, Decree 165/2024 of the Government. To be completed before April 15, 2025.

In addition, the Department of Transport is assigned to preside over and coordinate with units to propose to the City People's Committee and the City People's Council to consider issuing a Resolution to replace Resolution 15/2023 and Resolution 08/2018 of the City People's Council.

At the same time, coordinate with the Institute for City Development Studies and relevant agencies and units to review, report and propose to the City People's Committee on the policy, scope and budget for developing a project to exploit and use roadways and sidewalks in Ho Chi Minh City. Complete before April 10, 2025.

Coordinate with the Department of Finance and relevant agencies and units to advise the City on the procedures and methods for receiving "Software for temporary use of roads and sidewalks" to deploy and apply throughout the area from Visa Worldwide Pte.Limited, ensuring the progress of putting it into operation in the second quarter of 2025.

Neat sidewalks after toll collection in District 1

According to the Department of Transport, the use of roads and sidewalks for other purposes must comply with Decree 165/2024 of the Government. Therefore, the regulations on temporary use of roads and sidewalks under Decision 32/2023 of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee should be abolished soon.

In addition to abolishing Decision 32, according to the Department of Transport, some sidewalk use activities that are not regulated in Decree 165 but are suitable for the practical situation of Ho Chi Minh City (using sidewalks for trading, placing temporary works, utility works, etc.) can be considered for implementation through the development of a Project to exploit road traffic infrastructure assets according to Decree 44/2023 of the Government.

The development of this project requires a unit capable of coordinating with organizations, individuals, experts, and people to review, collect data, conduct sociological investigations, etc. Therefore, the Department of Transport recommends that the City People's Committee consider assigning the Ho Chi Minh City Institute for Development Studies to develop this project.

Vehicles parked neatly within the yellow line in District 1

According to the report of the Department of Transport, after 1 year of implementing the management and collection of fees for temporary use of roads and sidewalks, the collected fees to date are about 7 billion VND. Of which, the fees collected at the Department of Transport are about 2.5 billion VND (including cultural activities, arrangement of public transport facilities such as bicycle stations, and household waste transfer), the fees collected by districts including districts 1, 3, 4, 8, 10 and 12 are 4.5 billion VND (including business services, buying and selling goods, transferring materials, and construction waste on sidewalks).

In addition, localities imposed administrative penalties for violations of street order in 12,950 cases with fines totaling about 4.53 billion VND.

At the same time, implementing Resolution 01/2018 of the City People's Council, Thanh Nien Xung Phong Service Company Limited organizes toll-free car parking on 20 routes (District 1: 12 routes, District 5: 3 routes, District 10: 5 routes), of which 3 routes apply RFID technology (collection via traffic accounts from the Etag/Epass card reader system affixed to cars or dynamic QR code output) from January 1, 2025.

As a result, from December 2020 to October 2024, the toll collection for cars on the roadway earned 22 billion VND.

The Department of Transport commented that the implementation of temporary road and sidewalk usage fee collection over time has received consensus from the people, contributing to ensuring traffic order and safety and urban beauty.

Sidewalk usage fees contribute to influencing people's habits, awareness, and behavior when using the roadway, sidewalks, etc.

However, according to the Department of Transport, despite positive changes, the situation of urban order and beauty in some areas still has difficulties.

Many localities are still reviewing, researching, and have not yet implemented the collection of fees for temporary use of part of the roadway and sidewalk. This has created some public opinion about the management work, creating unfairness for organizations and individuals who comply well.

In many places, sidewalks are still encroached upon and misused. Many sidewalks are arranged by organizations to look after and park two-wheeled vehicles with large-scale service fees, without plans to ensure pedestrian access, without applying for permission or paying fees as prescribed. Or the administrative fines for sidewalk violations are not deterrent enough.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/vi-sao-bai-bo-quyet-dinh-32-ve-thu-phi-su-dung-via-he-o-tp-hcm-196250326174917831.htm