Thailand
Cambodia: Bus companies see a decline in passenger numbers but still thrive
One of the most popular forms of transport throughout Cambodia has seen a decrease of 20 percent in passengers since the start of the year because of COVID-19. However, buses still seem to be the go-to form of transport to travel around the Kingdom.
For Cambodia, the magnitude of bus routes throughout the country make getting from one place to another easy enough, although, the long list of bus companies throughout the country do more than just take people from point A to point B.
Air-conditioned coaches and mini-vans in Cambodia also serve as a postal route to transport goods from one part of the country to the other. Furthermore, the buses have always been the most popular choice of transport for people passing through the country while travelling through Southeast Asia.
Moeun Sambath, general manager of Larryta mini-van hire, said: “We are always coming up with different promotions for local travellers to try to keep domestic tourism moving. In fact, we have recently opened up new routes so that other parts of the country are easily accessible.”
“During the last few public holidays we have managed to up our operations and the general public seem to have reacted well. We like to give our customers piece of mind. We have all of the safety measures in place for COVID-19. We hope that in the near future tourism will start to pick up again. When it does we will be ready.”
Compared with the decline in numbers of people flying around Cambodia, 20 percent does not seem too bad. The International Civil Aviation Organization, a specialised agency of the United Nations, recorded an overall reduction of air passengers (both international and domestic) from around 57 percent to 60 percent as of Sept 16 this year compared with last year.
Between how easily accessible bus routes are and the affordability of using them, taking the bus seems to be a very popular choice for most people in Cambodia. Even at a time when there are no foreign travellers passing through, bus companies remain likely to stay strong, observers say.
“We are very lucky that business has only dropped by 20 percent. We have had to make some cutbacks such as reduced salary and hours but we are still surviving,” Moeun went on to say.
Source: https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50772243/bus-companies-see-a-decline-in-passenger-numbers-but-still-thrive/