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Future Forum's young research fellow, Song Daphea, was published in Cambodianess on October 20, 2024. Check out the original article HERE, and read it below!
Phnom Penh is at the heart of Cambodia. It is a vibrant city where stories, cultures, and lifestyles meet and intertwine as the people move about. Nearly 2.3 million people navigate the city’s streets on motorbikes, cars, and tuk-tuks, each adding to the lively streetscape. As more people choose to make Phnom Penh their home, our streets risk becoming too crowded with these vehicles, causing troublesome congestion.
An alternative exists—the city bus—but so far, this method of transport is underused.
Launched in 2014, the Phnom Penh City Bus aims to play an essential role in the city’s transport network and improve the lives of the residents. Today, the bus system comprises 13 lines available across the metropolis; however, it still struggles to gain ridership regardless of a decade-long operation. In 2019, the buses accommodated 8,265,107 passengers annually, with an average daily ridership of around 30,000. Despite seeming large, the number is relatively small compared to the city’s population. More interestingly, the buses are mostly occupied during rush hours; otherwise, they often run empty.
The absence of ridership offsets the advantages that the city bus is meant to create, such as equitable public commuting, eased traffic congestion, reduced carbon footprint, and alleviated mobility poverty. Therefore, this begs the question: How can we promote ridership for the Phnom Penh City Bus and, in turn, gain these significant benefits?
One possible strategy that might increase ridership that other countries have piloted—is making public transportation completely free of cost. Countries like the United States, Luxembourg, Estonia, Ireland, and Spain have introduced or piloted free or heavily discounted fares to encourage public transit usage. This strategy yielded interesting results, and it is useful to consider these results to understand if free buses might help increase ridership for the Phnom Penh city bus system.
Making the Bus Truly Public
The current bus fare is 1500 riels (approx. $0.36) per ride, meaning it costs $0.72 for a round trip. While this amount seems affordable, it’s also important to factor in the time and effort required for commuting by bus. The inconvenience of accessing bus stops, especially for those living in remote or underserved areas, can result in riders having to invest a more substantial time and energy in taking the bus.
Providing the city bus as a free public service could allow more people to use the resources they would otherwise have spent on transportation, whether on the bus, or a tuk tuk ride, for other aspects of their lives such as healthcare services, education, and investment which in return alleviate the living conditions of the people.
Several categories of people—monks, students, people with disabilities, and factory workers—already ride for free. The bus's popularity among these particular riders indicates that expanding free ridership might encourage more people to use this service.
In 2019, out of the 8.3 million total riders, 5.5 million took the bus for free. That means 66 percent of Phnom Penh’s bus riders are already not paying fares, which suggests that the cost-free nature of the ride has already been a strong incentive for people.
To understand what impact free fares might have, it might be useful to consider case studies from other countries where fare-free ridership has been implemented. For instance, the government of Spain introduced free rail travel passes in 2022 to cushion the impact of rising inflation and energy prices. As a result, nearly half a million people pre-ordered the passes while the number of transit passengers increased by almost 36 percent compared to the previous year. This initiative gained support from the people as it partially helped cut down the daily expenses and still gave the people the power of mobility.
Similarly, Germany introduced a monthly €9 ticket scheme in 2022, offering heavily discounted transport fares from June to August. The ticket allowed users to travel anywhere in the country. This initiative also aimed to curb the impact of rising living costs and the energy crisis. The scheme yielded exceptional results in promoting public transit, with approximately 38 million people purchasing the ticket. Notably, 20 percent of these tickets were sold to individuals who typically do not use public transportation.
Several cities in the United States are also experimenting with fare elimination on transit systems. Boston, for instance, has made several bus lines free, allowing officials to compare ridership trends across the system. The data from this pilot so far shows that fare elimination has had a positive impact on ridership. Ridership on the three routes that eliminated fares grew by 35 percent from 2021 to 2022, whereas ridership on the rest of the bus system grew by 15 percent.
These cases clearly show that the provision of free fare can act as a motivating factor for people to choose public transportation.
But, Money is Not Everything
While making the Phnom Penh City Bus free has the potential to have an impact on ridership, it is also crucial to recognize that just making public transport free does not guarantee immediate success in attracting ridership if other critical transit system gaps are ignored. The true key to success lies in ensuring the quality, reliability, and sustainability of the public transit system. Even if the bus fares are offered for free, it would make little difference if the buses were consistently late, unclean, or unreliable. To effectively encourage people to use public transit, it is crucial to also invest in improving the overall experience, ensuring punctuality, cleanliness, and convenience.
In addition to strengthening the services, it is equally important to consider the broader picture, especially on public infrastructure and transit design which are also key factors that influence the people’s willingness to ride the bus.
For instance, the availability and condition of pedestrian-friendly facilities are key elements missing from Phnom Penh’s public infrastructure. Currently, much of the city’s pavement is privatized and used for diverse purposes, including commercialization, personal use, and parking. The absence of pedestrian pathways hinders people from using the public bus.
Moreover, transit system design is another critical factor that enhances the likelihood that someone will choose to ride the bus. When the bus stops and stations are located far from the areas where people live, work, or frequent, it creates a barrier to accessibility. Simply put, if it’s too difficult for you to get from where the bus drops you off to your final destination—also known as the "first and last mile problem”—it means that you might struggle to choose the bus as your transport method.
According to JICA’s survey in 2023, titled the “Data Collection Survey on Urban Transportation Phnom Penh”, the top reasons that people refuse to ride the bus include the ease of private vehicle use, the slow speed of the bus, the distance of the bus stop from points of origin and destination, and the limitations of the bus route.
The survey also illustrated opinions on possible measures to make the public bus more accommodating. In addition to the immense support for a prioritized bus lane, 72 percent of the respondents also expressed their favor for viable solutions to address the first- and last-mile problem, such as tuk-tuk ride discounts or e-bikes available between the bus stops. This suggests that one of the underlying causes of people's disinterest in using the city bus is gaps in public transit design.
Cambodian authorities have demonstrated some interest in making progress towards bus system improvement. For instance, in June of this year, Prime Minister Hun Manet called for forward-thinking transit solutions and specifically called for more designated lanes to allow buses to travel more efficiently. We need more of these types of public transit-oriented solutions.
It is clearly crucial to look at the system holistically, considering factors like the quality of the services provided, and the public infrastructure. By prioritizing these factors—including experimentation with fare elimination—Phnom Penh can work towards having a public transit system that is not only accessible to everyone but is also appealing and reliable for its passengers.
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