PHNOM PENH - People in Phnom Penh are travelling on buses for the first time in over a decade, as authorities introduced a new public transportation system aimed at relieving traffic jams in the Cambodian capital.
Cambodian passengers disembark from a bus as Phnom Penh begins its trial for public bus service on Wednesday. (AP photo)
Phnom Penh's City Hall launched a one-month pilot program Wednesday, with 10 buses travelling a single route through the city centre.
Koeut Chhe, a senior City Hall official, said that if the program is successful, more buses and routes will be added.
The last time Phnom Penh had public buses was for a brief period in 2001, but the service was canceled after two months due to lack of interest from the motorbike-riding public.
According to Koeut Chhe, the city of roughly 1.5 million people has about 1.5 million motorbikes and over 30,000 cars clogging the roads.