To facilitate garment workers, employees and residents travelling home to cast their ballots on Sunday, July 23, the Phnom Penh Municipal Administration has put 400 buses into service for free travel to all the provinces.
The service, commencing July 22, will run until July 24, with departures from Phnom Penh at 5:30am and 2pm.
On the morning of July 22, Phnom Penh governor Khuong Sreng led a working group to meet passengers prepared to utilise the free bus service.
Sreng told reporters after the visit that the passengers were all set to depart Phnom Penh for their respective provinces. They included young and old people and accompanying family members.
"Each bus was filled with passengers, with capacities ranging from 20 to 45 passengers," he said.
The governor added that the fleet of 400 buses includes private ones rented by the City Hall to transport people from the capital to the provinces free of charge.
"We had to hire more private buses because the number of factory and informal workers was as high as 600,000,” he said, noting that some workers chose not to use the buses as they either had their own transport or opted for private rental vehicles.
Additionally, he urged all passenger transportation firms not to raise fares, emphasising their role in supporting the government in facilitating the journey of workers to fulfil their civic duty.
Sreng also mentioned that this was not the first occasion that Prime Minister Hun Sen had advised the City Hall to provide free bus services for major events like the Khmer New Year and Pchum Ben.
