Our Vision: A Lighter Footprint on a City We Love

At Onetrip with local, we believe that the magic of Hanoi lies in its vibrant street life, rich history, and the warmth of its people. As a local company, we feel a deep responsibility to protect and preserve the incredible city we call home for generations of residents and visitors to come.

Hanoi faces a profound environmental challenge, particularly concerning air quality and traffic congestion. The city has frequently ranked among the world’s most polluted, with levels of fine particulate matter (PM2.5​) often soaring to hazardous levels, at times exceeding the World Health Organization’s recommended limits by more than sixfold.¹ A primary driver of this pollution is the transportation sector. The city’s infrastructure is strained by over one million cars and 7.6 million motorcycles, with the total number of vehicles growing by 8-10% annually.² This rapid motorization leads to severe traffic congestion, a phenomenon that not only diminishes the quality of life but also carries a staggering economic cost, estimated at $1 billion to $1.2 billion per year in wasted fuel and lost productivity.² Emissions from these millions of idling and slow-moving vehicles release a constant stream of pollutants, including carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides (NOx​), and PM2.5​, directly contributing to the toxic smog that can blanket the capital.²

>>> You can check the Air quality in Hanoi by IQAIR.

>>> More information: Hanoi declared world’s most polluted city, authorities seek action by Reuters

This local crisis unfolds within a broader national context of ambition and transformation. The Vietnamese government has made a powerful commitment to sustainable development, setting a national goal to achieve Net Zero carbon emissions by 2050 and launching a comprehensive Action Program on Green Energy Transition.⁴ This top-down vision for a greener future is mirrored by a powerful bottom-up demand from travelers. A recent survey revealed that 96% of travelers believe sustainable tourism is a crucial consideration, with an overwhelming majority expressing a desire to make more sustainable travel choices.⁶ This convergence of government policy, local necessity, and global consumer consciousness creates a unique opportunity. By thoughtfully designing tourism experiences, operators can move from being passive contributors to the problem to becoming active participants in the solution. This approach transforms a business model into a mission, aligning a company’s success with the long-term well-being of the city it calls home. The traveler’s journey is thus redefined: it becomes an act of partnership, a meaningful contribution to a national vision for a sustainable Vietnam.

Our commitment to sustainability is an ongoing journey, shaping the experiences we create and the choices we make every day.

The Power of People: Exploring Hanoi on Foot and by Bike

The most effective strategy for sustainable urban tourism is to prioritize human-powered exploration. By shifting the focus from motorized transport to active travel, it is possible to offer experiences that are not only more authentic and immersive but also fundamentally aligned with environmental preservation. This approach directly addresses the core issues of emissions and congestion, transforming the act of sightseeing into a restorative practice for the urban environment. The narrative of this approach is one of escalating commitment—beginning with the zero-impact purity of walking and evolving to the active displacement of emissions through cycling.

The Intimate Pace of Our Walking Experiences

Exploring a city on foot is a fundamentally different experience from viewing it through the window of a vehicle. It allows for a slower, more deliberate engagement with the urban landscape, revealing hidden alleyways, fostering spontaneous interactions with local vendors, and allowing one to truly absorb the city’s unique rhythm. Our walking experiences are designed around this principle of intimate discovery.

From an environmental standpoint, walking is the most sustainable mode of transportation possible. It produces virtually no in-use greenhouse gas emissions and has a negligible lifecycle footprint.⁷ Each journey taken on foot is one less trip taken by a car or motorbike, which directly reduces the number of vehicles contributing to Hanoi’s chronic congestion and poor air quality.⁷ Active transportation, such as walking, is a cornerstone of creating more livable and people-centric cities, offering societal co-benefits that include reduced traffic noise and a greater sense of community well-being.⁹ Choosing a walking tour is therefore the purest way to connect with the intricate details of Hanoi while leaving behind nothing but footprints.

Launching Autumn 2025: Our Hanoi City Bike Tour

Building upon the foundation of our zero-impact walking tours, we are proud to announce the launch of our Hanoi City Bike Tour in the autumn of 2025. This initiative represents the next step in our commitment to green tourism, offering a way for guests to explore more of the city’s expanse while actively contributing to a cleaner environment. While walking is ideal for dense, historic quarters, cycling provides a powerful, low-carbon solution for covering greater distances, effectively displacing the need for motorized transport on longer urban journeys.

The environmental benefits of this shift are substantial and quantifiable. The lifecycle carbon footprint of different transport modes reveals a dramatic disparity. A typical petrol-powered car emits approximately 170 grams of CO2​ per passenger-kilometer, whereas a conventional bicycle’s lifecycle emissions, including production and the food required to power the cyclist, amount to only about 21 grams of CO2​ per kilometer.¹⁰ This represents a reduction in a traveler’s transport-related carbon footprint by over 85%. Research from the University of Oxford has shown that switching just one trip per day from a car to a bicycle can reduce an individual’s carbon footprint by approximately 0.5 tonnes of CO2​ over the course of a year—a significant portion of an average person’s total emissions.¹²

The positive impact extends far beyond carbon reduction. Motorized transport is a major source of harmful air pollutants like nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter, which are particularly acute problems in Hanoi.³ By choosing to cycle, travelers help reduce these pollutants, leading to cleaner air and better public health outcomes. Furthermore, cycling mitigates noise pollution, an often-overlooked environmental stressor that disrupts urban ecosystems and negatively affects human well-being.¹⁴

Ultimately, promoting cycling tourism is an investment in a better urban future. It signals a clear economic demand for safer, more sustainable infrastructure, such as dedicated bicycle lanes. Global studies have demonstrated that cities with well-developed cycling networks, like Copenhagen, see significant reductions in private vehicle emissions and reap billions of dollars in public health benefits.⁸ By offering and encouraging bike tours, we not only provide a superior travel experience but also join a global movement to create healthier, more equitable, and more livable cities for everyone.¹⁵ This progression from walking to cycling is a deliberate one, reflecting a deepening commitment to not only do no harm but to actively do good.

Our Responsible Rides: Navigating History with Honesty

For experiences that delve into chapters of history located beyond the city center, such as our Vietnam War tours, some form of vehicle transport becomes necessary. In these instances, our commitment to sustainability remains our guiding principle. We approach this logistical necessity with a clear, data-driven policy and a commitment to radical transparency. In a market where “eco-friendly” claims can be vague, we believe that providing travelers with honest, detailed information is the cornerstone of building trust. This section offers an inside look at our “EV-First” policy and the on-the-ground realities of navigating a rapidly developing city like Hanoi.

Our EV-First Commitment for a Cleaner Ride

For any tour that requires a vehicle, our first and foremost choice is always a 100% Electric Vehicle (EV). This is not a casual preference but a firm policy rooted in a clear understanding of the environmental benefits. The primary advantage of EVs in a dense urban setting is the complete elimination of tailpipe emissions.⁹ This is critically important for improving local air quality in Hanoi, where vehicle exhaust is a major contributor to health-threatening pollution.

Beyond the immediate air quality benefits, the lifecycle carbon footprint of an EV is significantly lower than that of its internal combustion engine counterpart. A comprehensive lifecycle analysis, which includes manufacturing, energy production for charging, and disposal, shows that a battery electric vehicle produces approximately 60-75 grams of CO2​ equivalent per kilometer. In stark contrast, a conventional petrol car emits over 170 grams of CO2​ per kilometer.¹¹ By prioritizing EVs, we more than halve the carbon footprint of each motorized journey, making a measurable difference in our overall environmental impact. This data-backed rationale forms the foundation of our responsible ride-sourcing strategy.

The Reality of Hanoi’s Roads: A Note on Our Vehicle Policy

Our commitment to an EV-First policy operates within the complex and dynamic context of Hanoi’s current infrastructure. We believe in being transparent about the challenges we face, as it provides a true picture of the state of sustainable transport in the city. While Vietnam’s EV market is growing at an exciting pace, the supporting infrastructure is still in a nascent stage of development. A significant challenge is the scarcity of public charging stations; one recent report noted that the existing infrastructure meets only an estimated 3% of the projected demand.¹⁶ This system-level constraint means that the availability of fully charged, reliable EVs for commercial tour use can be limited.¹⁷

This infrastructure challenge is compounded by a range of logistical hurdles unique to Hanoi. The city is infamous for its severe traffic congestion, which can make vehicle positioning and scheduling highly unpredictable.² During periods of peak demand—such as national holidays, major music concerts, or city-wide events—the competition for all forms of transport, including EVs, intensifies dramatically. Furthermore, large-scale construction projects can disrupt routes and further complicate logistics.

These factors combine to create a logistical puzzle where, on occasion, securing a pre-booked EV at the right time and place becomes impossible despite our best efforts. It is in these specific, documentable circumstances that we must turn to a backup plan.

Our honest promise to our guests is this: We will always exhaust every available option to book an Electric Vehicle for your tour. Our team prioritizes our EV partners and works diligently to secure these bookings. Only when these external, city-wide factors make it logistically impossible to use an EV do we resort to using a modern, well-maintained diesel vehicle. This is our last resort, not our standard operating procedure. This transparency is our commitment to you, ensuring you have a clear and accurate understanding of the choices we make on your behalf.

To summarize our transportation hierarchy, the following table provides an at-a-glance comparison of the options we use and their environmental impact.

Mode of Transport	Approximate Lifecycle CO2​ Emissions (per passenger-km)	Our Commitment & Your Impact
Walking Tour	0g (in-use)	The most intimate, zero-impact way to experience the details of Hanoi. Your choice actively reduces congestion.
Cycling Tour	~21g 10	Our premier green option. You reduce transport emissions by over 85% vs. a car and support a vision for a healthier city.
Electric Vehicle (EV)	~70g 11	Our default for motorized tours. You eliminate tailpipe pollution and more than halve the carbon footprint of your ride.
Diesel Vehicle	~170g 11	A reluctant last resort, used only when EV booking is impossible due to Hanoi’s specific logistical challenges.

The Ripple Effect: How Your Choice Shapes Hanoi’s Future

The decision of how to explore a city has consequences that extend far beyond an individual’s holiday experience. Each choice made by a traveler sends a signal to the local economy, creating a ripple effect that can either exacerbate existing problems or contribute to a more sustainable and resilient future. By understanding this connection, a traveler’s role is transformed from that of a passive consumer to an active agent of positive change. Choosing a sustainable tour is not just a preference; it is a statement of values and an investment in the long-term health of the destination.

When you opt for a walking or cycling tour in Hanoi, you are directly helping to mitigate the city’s most pressing environmental issues. You are removing one more vehicle from the streets, contributing to the alleviation of the traffic congestion that costs the local economy over a billion dollars annually.² More importantly, you are helping to reduce the air pollution that is linked to an estimated 60,000 premature deaths each year in Vietnam and has been estimated by the World Bank to cost the national economy around $13 billion annually.²⁰ These are not abstract statistics; they represent the real-world health and economic burdens faced by the people who call Hanoi home. Your choice has a direct, positive impact on their well-being.

Furthermore, supporting active and green tourism does more than just reduce emissions for a single day. It helps build the economic case for a greener urban future. When local businesses see a clear and growing demand for sustainable travel options, it incentivizes investment in the necessary infrastructure. Your choice helps create the momentum needed for the development of more green spaces, pedestrian-friendly zones, and safe, interconnected bike lanes.¹⁴ This process helps reshape the city to prioritize people over vehicles, leading to a quieter, cleaner, and more livable environment for both residents and future visitors.

Ultimately, we invite you to join us in this mission. When you explore Hanoi with us, you are more than just a visitor; you are a partner in our commitment to responsible tourism. You are casting a vote for cleaner air, quieter streets, and a more sustainable future for this beautiful and complex city. In a world where a majority of travelers are actively seeking ways to travel more responsibly, your choice is a powerful affirmation of this shared goal.⁶ Let us explore with purpose, together.

Works cited

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