Applying Transport Reform Lessons from the Case of Seoul to Hanoi

To address the complex transport system challenges including accidents, poor air quality, congestion, and insufficient access faced by its rapid urbanization and development, Seoul implemented a comprehensive and integrated “super project” to upgrade its public transportation system and improve its urban spaces for mobility and sustainability. This plan has largely been successful in improving critical measures such as air quality, reducing energy consumption, and increasing the competitiveness of the public transportation system compared to car travel. By pursuing a transit-oriented infrastructure construction program, the city has achieved better efficiency of operations through improved coordination of transport capacity and demand. The plan as well as the steps the Seoul government has taken has set the city on a path towards environmental sustainability. In particular, this report examines how the implementation processes and reforms targeted in Seoul may help address similar challenges currently faced by Vietnam in the Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh (HCMC) transport regions.