Long-Awaited Phnom Penh Bus Service Begins One-Month Trial
A fleet of 10 municipal buses was set to roll out early this morning, commencing a one-month public bus service trial along a single route on Monivong Boulevard. If successful, the bus route will mark the first step in establishing a long-overdue public transit system to alleviate Phnom Penh’s increasing traffic congestion. The daily service, which will cost passengers 1,500 riel (about $0.30) for a flat-rate single ticket, will run from 5:30 a.m. until 8:30 p.m. from the Chroy Changva “Old Stadium” roundabout to Chbar Ampov, stopping 36 times along the way. The public bus is the brainchild of the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA), which hopes it will be prove more popular this time around than in 2001, when JICA pulled the plug on a two-month trial service due to a lack of public interest. … Chhorn Kna, a 41-year-old tuk-tuk driver whose usual parking spot had been replaced by the bus stop outside the French Embassy, said he was not overly concerned about losing customers to the buses. “The fee is a little bit cheaper than a tuk-tuk, so I will have to wait and see, but I think passengers will get bored waiting, because it will take a long time to get to their destination.” …
Simon Henderson and Khuon Narim
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/long-awaited-phnom-penh-bus-service-begins-one-month-trial-51446/
