With her three young grandsons, Kim Phum set out Friday morning to ride Phnom Penh’s air conditioned buses, seeking to have a bit of “fun” and to satisfy her curiosity about what the Phnom Penh City Shuttle—Cambodia’s first public transit system—is all about.
“I can’t use it to commute to work, because my office is not on one of the lines,” she said. “But tonight I will go to Prek Liep with family members to have dinner.”
On the morning of its first day of operation, some buses on the shuttle’s two lines were half-full with thrill-seekers like Kim Phum and children returning from various International Children’s Day events. Whether people will use the buses to travel between office and home won’t be known until next week, when work resumes after Friday’s holiday.
For Malay, a woman in her 20s who lives at the end of the Monivong Boulevard route in the Chbar Ampou area, traveling to her job at the Sunway Hotel by bus is a possibility. But she worries that the buses’ hours of operation—from 5:30 am to 7:30 pm every day—won’t fit her work schedule. And she complained the bus stops didn’t have shelters.
“I support Cambodia’s development, but I am almost dying from the heat,” she said. “And what would I do if it rained?”
The municipality and the Japan International Cooperation Agency, which is funding the bus system, started the month-long experiment Friday to see if it is a feasible way to tame the city’s chaotic traffic. Phnom Penh Governor Chea Sophara said the city hopes to reduce traffic accidents by 70 percent within three years.
“Cars, motorbikes and people have increased. But the amount of space has not,” he said. “Bangkok is a good example for bringing Phnom Penh out of pollution.”
Phnom Penh’s roads have become increasingly dangerous as the number of people driving has risen. A recent study of driving habits fund that most motorbike operators do not wear helmets, and accidents are a major cause of debilitating head injuries.
As part of the experiment, bicycles, cyclos, motorcycles and slow-moving vehicles are banned from Monivong Boulevard between Kampuchea Krom and Sihanouk boulevards during the buses’ operating hours.
That’s fine with 60-year-old Tang Hoy. Aboard a bus Friday, she said she is scared of motorbike taxis, which she deemed too risky. And she recalled that the last time she rode a cyclo, it tipped over and caused a slash to her forehead.
At one bus stop at the corner of Kampuchea Krom and Monivong boulevards, a succession of motorbike taxi drivers stopped and asked prospective bus riders if they needed a lift. Some looked bewildered when people on the sidewalk replied they were waiting for a bus.
“In Phnom Penh, moto dops and cyclos are popular,” said Japanese Ambassador Gotaro Ogawa. “So I am not clear on whether the bus operation will be successful or not.”
At several stops Friday, buses came along every seven or eight minutes. Onboard, Cambodian pop music played at a comfortable volume as conductors walked up and down the narrow aisle, selling and checking tickets, explaining rules, answering questions and issuing transfer passes for riders wanting to switch from one route to another.
“Some people don’t know how to use the bus,” said conductor Sok Lyda. “I have to explain a lot.”
There are 22 buses running in the system. One route goes both ways along Monivong Boulevard, while the second route rings the center of the city along Norodom, Sihanouk, Nehru and Kampuchea Krom boulevards. Fares are set at 800 riel, but will cost just 500 riel for the first five days of June.
(Additional reporting by Kay Kimsong)
