HANOI, Dec. 31 (Xinhua) -- Tens of thousands of pedicab drivers may lose the means to earn a living when a ban on three- and four-wheeler motorized vehicles comes into effect on Jan. 1, 2008, local newspaper Vietnam News reported Monday.

    The Vietnamese government decision, aiming at reducing traffic jams and accidents, will also ban dilapidated trucks and passenger automobiles that are not roadworthy, as well as unregistered and self-modified three- and four-wheel motor vehicles.

    According to the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Transport and Public Works, over 60,000 drivers with three- and four-wheelers, many in their mid-1950s and 1960s, will be affected by the ban. Of this figure, only 1,000 three and four-wheelers are registered. The rest are too old and environmentally unfit for registration. In Hanoi capital, some 2,000 vehicles will be affected by the ban.

    In addition to their livelihood, these types of vehicles are useful for transporting goods in areas where roads are often too narrow for even mini-trucks, local people said.

    Self-employed garbage collectors also use them to make a living. In the southern city, 3,000 garbage collectors navigate around densely populated neighborhoods to earn some 60 U.S. dollars a month.

    One of major problems for local authorities and drivers is the lack of time and options to change their vocation.

    In order to solve the problem, the People's Committee of southern Vinh Long province has decided to give each pedicab owner1.5 million Vietnamese dong (93.7 U.S. dollars) to sell their pedicabs as junk, two million Vietnamese dong (125 U.D. dollars) for joining a vocational training course, and an allowance sufficient to buy rice for three months. Owners seeking to change their livelihoods can also get bank loans.