City eyeing more buses

ppp Sat, 30 January 2016

Shaun Turton

)))

School of Vice: Overall, good public transport network makes sense for all concerned. Saving lives, reducing road accidents, easing horrendous traffic congestion, scaling down pollution, making the air and the environment cleaner have to stay at the heart of any "development" project, especially within urban areas. It will take time for the public to become accustomed to such a transport service, and some moto-dop taxi drivers will decline in number, though they are highly unlikely to fade out completely due to people's preference for a quick and cheap form of transport locally. I have always been in favour of bicycles-led public transport system, but of course, School of Vice is in a small minority again as usual on this front...

(((

People travel through Phnom Penh on a state run city bus last year. Eli Meixler

City Hall has asked Japan to fund 180 new buses to help increase the number of bus routes from three to 10. The request, made to Japan’s development arm JICA last week, is under consideration and will be assessed by a survey team, due to release its report in August, according to JICA’s Seng Solady, responding via email.

“Developing the urban transportation infrastructure in the capital city is of vital importance for the economic and social development of the country,” Solady said.“We, JICA, thus consider that such area deserves our investment.”

Currently, 6,000 to 7,000 passengers utilise the fledgling public transportation system every day, which includes 50 busses that run on three bus lines, according to City Hall.

Last year, a city spokesman said cheap tickets sold for 1,500 riel [or $0.37], and free passes given to students, disabled travellers, the elderly and monks were seeing the service lose about $100,000 each month.

Based on Phnom Penh’s Transport Master Plan 2035, developed by JICA, the seven new routes, which are not finalised yet, will cover all the capital’s main roads.