After the Khmer New Year period came to an end, a lot of people left their hometowns by taking busses rolled out by the state for free to cut down on their travel costs, according to some provincial administrations and the Phnom Penh Autonomous Bus Transportation Authority, commonly known as Citybus.
The Siem Reap Provincial Administration said on April 17 that at the start of the holiday period, 100 buses from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap departed from the Tep Mach roundabout at Chroy Changvar on National Road 6.
“From April 13-16, there were 339 buses transporting 10,075 people from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap and vice versa,” it said.
The Battambang Provincial Administration said that over 5,000 people from Battambang had taken 50 buses for free to and from Phnom Penh during the holiday.
Kampong Chhnang provincial governor Sun Sovanrith said on April 17 that he had met with bus drivers transporting people to his province and gave them a cash bonus for their efforts as they had to work over the holiday.
He added that for Phnom Penh-Kampong Chhnang free bus service for the holiday, there were five buses making the trip back and forth daily.
Phnom Penh’s Citybus service also pitched in and helped with the mission of transporting people to and from the provinces and the capital over the holiday. In a statement, they said their operations had gone smoothly and that all of their buses, drivers and passengers made it to their destinations safely and on time.
To help people travel to their hometowns during Khmer New Year, the Phnom Penh Municipal Administration rolled out 345 buses to transport capital residents and workers for free.
It said that in the five days from April 13-17, a total of 70 buses transported people within Phnom Penh, while the other 275 buses were tasked with transporting people from Phnom Penh to various provinces and vice versa.
