"Our existing ineffective traffic system is the result of many mistakes, rushed construction projects and improper planning", said Dao Trong Nghiem, former director of the Ha Noi Department of Planning and Architecture.

Nghiem said the current road infrastructure system, which does not follow a consistent model, is a mixture of different models including both old and new.

"Some of the models are not carefully planned, while some may be well thought but not well implemented."

He said a panorama of the city's traffic system, along with various projected scenarios for urban planning should be stretched out for the authorities to have a full view of the situation and work out suitable solutions.

Another issue of great concerns is traffic management. According to Nghiem, for many of the traffic lights, the waiting time coming with the red sign is too long, lasting one or two minutes, making it very inconvenient for people.

"We should not make people suffer because of some random experiments," said Nghiem, stressing that traffic rules must be carefully thought out before they were put into practice.

Vu Hoan, chairman of the Ha Noi Federation of Science and Technology Associations said that urban planning should place focus in the popularisation and improvement of public transport so as to reduce people's dependence on private vehicles.

Other experts held the same opinion as Hoan, citing increased use of public transportation as a way to reduce land and energy use.

According to the Ha Noi Transport Department, the municipal People's Committee has recently approved a project to develop public transport with a focus on bus commuting.

Following the plan, it is expected that by 2020, the city's bus system will meet 25 per cent of its residents' travelling demands.

It is also planned that there will be 91 bus routes in the city during the 2011-15 period and 98 during the 2016-20 period.

Hoan also said that investment in high-rise and underground parking lots should be encouraged, while parking areas on pavements, which hindered traffic circulation must be reduced.

With regard to the Ministry of Transport's recent proposal to change the working time at offices and schools, which was submitted to the Government a few days ago, Hoan said it should be piloted in certain areas only.

He said the timetable change should be made in consideration of two groups: the independent group and dependent one. The independent group are students who travel by themselves to schools or universities, The dependent groups are office workers who have to take their children to schools before work.

"The starting time for offices should be one hour later than that for schools to make it convenient for parents,

The proposal, in fact, aroused fired controversy among city's residents over the last few days.

Vu Thuy Dung, a resident from Cau Giay District, said she doubted the plan's feasibility as it would change people's usual lifestyles.

"You must consider both the timetables of parents and their children to make the plan, and it is very difficult to do so because working times vary from company to company, depending on each profession's characteristics."

Nguyen Tuan Anh, a resident from Thanh Xuan District, held the same opinion.

"It is impossible to make such a plan work," said Anh, adding that the authorities should focus on upgrading the city's traffic infrastructures instead of forcing a change on city residents' lifestyles.