Chasing Cars, 1 March 2009

Followers (why has no-one registered Crossing Cambodia as to be followed?) of this blog may have been wondering what's happening. So have I!

To tell you the truth not much at all is happening. Being the first of March, one would have expected that the men in blue would have brought Phnom Penh under helmets by now, but that point is slowly slipping away. Crossing Cambodia estimates that helmet wearing has dropped from 80-90% to just 50-70%. This despite the more than usual coppers on the road trying to stop anyone vaguely offending some kind of rule. That's unless, like last Saturday, the offender was wearing an army cap (and no helmet). We're not going to stop him!

• But it's good to see something else pop up on the agenda. Once more. Now two years overdue.

  'National Police Chief Neth Savoeun has ordered police across the country to start punishing, as of May, any civilians or low-ranking police or army officers whose vehicles bear police or military licence plates.
  ...
  The crackdown would also apply to vehicles with no plates at all, he added'.

  Wish them luck. But as it is 2 weeks later, nothing to be seen! '

  She [Mu Sochua, opposition spokesperson] said an earnest effort to enforce the law, not more stern words about it, was needed. She added that a real crackdown on illegally procured plates was "beyond" the National Police chief, given how pervasive the practice has become'.

  Nearly everything is pervasive in Cambodia.

• Next up were

  'the motorbikes pulling overloaded trailers'

  The reason:

  '"We do not allow big motorbikes to tow trailers into the city because it causes traffic jams and makes the city look messy and disorderly," said Chav Hak, deputy chief of the Phnom Penh Municipal Traffic Police'.

  Subjectivity at it's best. Put more bluntly, these guys are so unpowerful we can easily cash in on them! An offender:
  

  "We have spent more than 30,000 riels ($7.27) at police checkpoints along the national road from Kampong Speu to Phnom Penh," he said. "Look at the police. They are not skinny. We work hard, but we are still very skinny."

• Odd for a city where taxi's are nowhere to be found. Phnom Penh is mentioned in a list of cities where to avoid taxi's. That can't be too difficult then!
  

  'Therefore, we recommend making alternative travel arrangements in the following areas!'

  First in a unlisted list is Phnom Penh:

  'Phnom Penh is a friendly [compared to what?] and laid back tourist destination, but hailing a taxi is an experience you won’t particularly enjoy [because there are none?]. You won’t have as much trouble getting a taxi as you will getting rid of your driver once you reach your destination. Many drivers insist on becoming your personal tour guide, of course collecting fares for each destination they deliver you to along the way. Before you head to Cambodia ask your travel agent to recommend a few good transportation companies or you might want to try a rickshaw. You can easily hire a driver for an entire day for a minimal cost and without the scary stalker experience'.

  Load of ****. My own list would most certainly include Kuala Lumpur where the taxi-folk are 50/50 aforementioned word. Impolite, rude, greedy and simply obnoxious quite a few are the rotten apples there. Elsewhere? Bali, Singapore, Bangkok, Vientiane, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh, Chiang Mai are all ok, Kathmandu might be slightly iffy.

• Competition on the horizon? A 27 year old male propably working for Handicap Internbational has set up his own blog. And publishes statistics and the odd (uncited) article from the news concerning traffic safety in Cambodia. Looks pretty boring as there is no personal touch. And plays it safe! Ha! What's wrong with criticizing the Cambo officials?

• From the SE Globe:

  'Let’s be blunt. Phnom Penh isn't friendly to pedestrians. SUVs roar down potholed streets, horns screaming as pedestrians and motos scurry for cover. These “connected” drivers don’t need licence plates and the police don’t seem to car'.

  A nice readable article, a bit utopian here and there, but if one can't dream, what then?

  'Traffic engineers refer to three “Es”: engineering, education and enforcement. Engineering has been discussed, but education and enforcement remain. That’s why the government works with groups such as HIB. It has given the police 100 global positioning system (GPS) detectors so they can gather data about traffic accident trends. By mapping them, they can see the most dangerous zones for pedestrians and vehicles, said Sem Panhavuth of HIB. It’s a small step in the right direction. Pedestrian safety is paramount in a city that aspires to a higher world ranking than given it by National Geographic magazine and values its tourist industry. One conspicuous sign of prosperity is not traffic density but the recognition that grace and architectural beauty are better seen at walking pace'.

Synopsis II

As Crossing Cambodia starts in it’s 3^rd year of reporting on Cambodia’s traffic situation (and over 7,000 visitors), a brief resume is not out of place.

The first year, this site stated that Cambodia’s traffic is pure anarchy / chaos which was backed-up by many similar reports both on Cambodia’s own situation as well as comparisons with neighbouring countries.

If anything this reign of chaos and anarchy has strengthened. The difference being that increased numbers of vehicles have lead to more chaos. Is it disregard to other road users, ignorance or simple evil that fuels this process?

Part of the problem lies in the fact that Cambodia traffic police are reluctant to get involved. Relegated to the sidelines (literally) they have no compulsion to take action; content with the odd campaign to fine the unfortunate few and rely on a steady stream of ‘voluntary’ contributions dished out by trucks, which are barred from the city for a great part of the day.

The past year has seen little change, though many encouraging voices of how the future will change. Though positive, the future itself will tell whether or not this will happen. And based on the past, we may well already know the answer.

With the increase of traffic, death rates have also increased substantially. With over 80% dying from head related injuries, one would expect that authorities are taking helmet wearing compliance as a serious issue. Though much has been noted in the lip-service on this issue, in reality, the past year helmet wearing has come no closer than it was previously. Possibly it is all the more posturing such as to keep NGO’s happy rather than showing any interest in the safety of it’s own citizens. Especially in the light of how neighbouring countries have been able to successfully implement helmet wearing.

Despite a traffic law being accepted absolutely no aspects of the law are being implemented, i.e. it is totally ignored. Which is sort of a symbol of total apathy.
Other traffic aspects are totally disregarded, the last year has seen the vision of Cambodian authorities: more traffic lights. However any future vision is void; wait until total deadlock / mayhem and then react, seems to be the future. Even in Vietiane, Lao they are studying light rail options to assist city movement, recognizing that private options (though suitable/preferable) are in the end, deemed to increase deadlock and thereby contribute to economic damage.

Last year’s synopsis didn’t end on a high note, nor will this years. Pathetic seems to be a best description of traffic in Cambodia. Can it get any worse?

Chasing Cars, another pre-Water festival edition

More yawns? Apparently so.

• 'But the peak-time electricity cuts in Russey Keo are upsetting more than local residents - the capital's major ring road runs through the area and power cuts mean traffic lights are out of operation, causing the roads to become nearly unmanageable.
  
  "Electricity shortages in Phnom Penh are causing major traffic jams," Tin Prasoeur, chief of the Phnom Penh traffic police, told the Post on Thursday.
  
  "We get a very bad headache when lamp posts and traffic lights on the major roads in this city are cut off as a result of no electricity," he said.'

  Again the traffic police lay the blame elsewhere. Conveniently. Over the last few months CC has mentioned a few times how once the electricity goes, traffic jams occur. And what do the traffic police posted at that intersection do? At best they try to fine a couple of moto's without mirrors. If not, they just hang out on the shady cornor and wait for an accident to happen.

• Because accidents are a source of income for the traffic police:

  'Phnom Penh Police Chief Touch Naruth admitted that his force occasionally informed private clinics about traffic accidents, but said that most cases involved witnesses or victims calling them directly.
  "Our police do inform private clinics where traffic accidents are sometimes, but usually people at the scene call private clinics directly because they are faster."'

  But despite that admittance, the govenor of Phnom Penh goes on record:

  'Phnom Penh Governor Kep Chuktema denied at the meeting that his police department had accepted bribes to inform private clinics of accidents'.

  So why do we care?

  'In an bid to promote a public ambulance service, the Health Ministry has made it illegal for private ambulances to retrieve victims in emergency situations - even if they are first on the scene'.

  How long will the ban last? Until the Water festival?

• Instead the government should start to wake up to the issue of petrol smuggling. Like the Tonle Sap when the flow of water changes, so does the direction of the smuggling change, it appears. Despite being dissatisfied with the petrol companies on lowering petrol prices, the following is now occuring:

  'Now, petrol is being smuggled from Cambodia into Vietnam, instead of the other way around'.

  Is Cambodia now subsidizing Vietnam?

• But not to worry, vehicle tax income has risen by at least 12,5% above projections. So are there that many vehicles being imported or is the government not so good in 'projecting'? Despite knowing roughly what the inflow of tax would be:

  'Phnom Penh has an estimated 80,000 automobiles and 220,000 motorbikes, according to tax office figures'.

  Then the discussion on corruption:

  'Son Chhay [opposition lawmaker] said that tax officials often demand illegal fees when people pay their tax and that police collect bribes for violations, which also deprives the government of revenue.
  But Om Cham said the law does not force drivers to pay extra fees and that motorists paying bribes were breaking the law'.

  Yeah right, the motorists are breaking the law! Blame the others!

• Back to the start of today's entry, traffic lights. Vuthasurf surprisingly feels guilt because of a 'blue' light?

  'When approaching in the middle of street, the blue light turned into red.
  ...
  At that time, I felt ashamed about myself because of breaking the traffic light law'.

Cycle away

Cycle your way to cheaper living

Dear Editor,
As the price of gasoline is skyrocketing, many Cambodians have thought about the ways to cut the cost of travel by using other alternative means of transport.
I have personally decided to cycle to work a few times a week. In so doing, I am able to save some money I would spend on gasoline to cover the rising price of food.
Walking or riding a bicycle is also good for health. Nowadays, we frequently hear news of friends suddenly falling sick or dying from obesity related illnesses like high blood pressure and heart attacks. By riding a bicycle to work, I feel better and I don't need the painful traditional coining Kos Kchol for occasional indispositions like before.
Riding a bicycle is also good for the environment in this increasingly polluted capital of Phnom Penh as it does not produce toxic emission like cars and motorcycles. Meanwhile, using bicycles also helps reduce traffic congestion.
However, cycling in Phnom Penh these days can also have bad consequences. Back in the 1980s, possessing a bicycle was like owning a luxury car for most Cambodians, so the cyclists also received a lot of respect from others. Because of this mutual respect, I was able to ride my bicycle to school without a single accident for nearly ten years.
Now things have changed. Except for foreigners, riding a bicycle in Cambodia today is considered a sign of low social status by many Cambodians. Some car or moto-cycle drivers would wildly honk along a busy street to disperse cyclists and pedestrians as if they were cows blocking their way.
Worse still, pedestrians and cyclists can hardly find a safe road to travel on. More than 15 years ago, Phnom Penh streets were clearly divided into appropriate lanes for cars, motorcycles and bicycles, while pedestrians traveled on the sidewalks. Now, cyclists have to be squashed between cars and motorcycles or even pushed onto the sidewalk with pedestrians who also find it harder to walk. Except for a few boulevards, most sidewalks in Phnom Penh are now used as a parking place or to display goods for sale. Nevertheless, walking or cycling is still a good way to move around the city.
To help reduce expenditure on gasoline and save the environment should encourage people to walk or ride a bicycle in the city instead of driving their cars or motorcycles. They also need to reserve part of the side walks for pedestrians and secure a safe lane for cyclists. Government officials and civil servants can also take the lead by walking or cycling to work, while strictly strengthening the traffic rules.

Moeun Chhean Nariddh
Phnom Penh

From the most recent Phnom Penh Post (May 30 - June 12, 2008). The author brings forward a number of issues related to traffic in Cambodia.

Yes, at a recent meeting on wages, staff were complaining about the costs of living: 'we even have to go by bicycle to work / market'. Hardly an argument to claim a wage increase, but it does show how cycling is frowned upon.

Crossing Cambodia has been cycling Phnom Penh for nearly 3 years and there are not many of us, mostly foreign lunatics. Increasingly, congestion and Cambodian society looking down on those less fortunate, has taken much pleasure out of cycling the city, if one can even consider this a pleasure.

Are there much more bikes now on the street? No, if anything, the roads are getting clogged more and more by increasing amounts of motorized traffic. This clogging thus gives rise to more effectiveness to cyclists: the ultimate traffic jam busters!

One also has to place large question marks towards the future of the city. Besides lacking law enforcement, there is absolute no vision about how to contain the scores of (new) drivers and their vehicles. Many streets are already bursting at their seems and the consequence is that private initiative is leading investors to invest in gated communities far away from the city center. The city center lacks parking spaces, low cost public transport, green spaces and efficient ways of dealing with traffic. And not much is being done about it.

p.s. does anyone know what Kos Kchol is?

Chasing Cars, Cambodia: bumper cars galore! May 12, 2008

Any changes with last week? Sure it’s a lot wetter on the road. Last week Tuesday, Phnom Penh went gridlock as the roundabout of Wat Phnom went underwater forcing the rest of the traffic to seek alternative routes which surprise, surprise are hardly available. And with the Cambodian penchant to seek a route where there’s none the result was clear.

Has anyone noticed that there are increasing numbers of moto drivers with their helmets on? On Saturday nearly 45%, which is a record of sorts, considering that the normal rate used to be 20-30% for over quite some months. Females are again heading the pack with 50-55% of the women drivers driving helmet clad.

Is it pure coincidence, do you think, that the helmet wearing rate is going up, now the rains are well under way? The onset of the rains is also the most unsafest period, slippery roads and the lack of good tyres lead to many accidents with just one vehicle involved. Over the weekend a moto driving just behind CC wobbled and fell without any clear cause. The passenger seemed to come off worst, but probably nothing broken.

• Andy Brouwer in his blog gives us a different example of all too common Cambodian accident:

  'The traffic chaos on the city's streets was brought home to me on Saturday. As we left Phnom Penh on our way to Battambang, the traffic slowed to a crawl as we passed by a tragic scene in the middle of the road. A young woman on her moto had moments before been struck by a petrol tanker and her limp body was being held by a distraught friend who was shrieking loudly, as everyone stood by and stared. No-one lent a hand including the policemen at the roadside who didn't flinch, even though the dead woman's brains were splayed all over the road. The traffic laws, such as they are, are ignored by everyone. It really is every man for himself'.

• His excellent blog also has a recent example of Cambodian rail travel:

  'Rail travel in Cambodia is slow and incredibly uncomfortable. I'm pretty sure that passenger services have been officially postponed though they still happen but they're 'not official'. Instead, in various spots around the country where you find a railway line, you can find a 'norry' or bamboo train, which as you can see from these photos are a wooden platform on metal wheels that are powered by a small electric motor'.

• Talking about rail, leads to what’s next? As the overall Cambodian railroads are getting shaped up (possibly?), a Mekong Times article reports on the additional need of $500 million for a railroad to Vietnam.

  'Cambodia is seeking US$500 million in loans or aid to construct a 255 km rail link to Vietnam, though China has already pledged 20 million Yuan (around US$2.8 million) to the project'.

  China surely sees the logic and has correspondingly maxed it’s donation (or is it a loan, time will tell). It’s expected to be finished by 2020, which is an optimistic prediction.

• More on the shopping list:

  'Cambodia needs at least 2.5 billion U.S. dollars to implement the master plan of national road construction. The budget for national road construction will be increased if the oil price increases, Sun Chan Thol [Minister of Public Works and Transportation] said'.

  This last point is certainly cryptic and defies logic. Lost in translation?

• In the meantime VOA Khmer reports that

  'about 100 Cambodians, from motorcycle taxi and tuk-tuk drivers, vendors and politicians, met in a public forum Friday, urging the end of graft and the passage of anti-corruption legislation'.

  What’s the significance of this? Oh well, I believe Thaksin of Thailand started off with his downfall when he rubbed the taxi drivers the wrong way up, so who knows?

• Talking of the tuk-tuk-ers, on the tripadvisor forum there was this entry:

  'Avoid the tuk tuk "mafia" that hang out in front of this hotel [FCC]. They assume that everyone is extremely well off and will do anything to bilk you. There is one guy who has several of these drivers under his charge and he attempts to set the prices as high as possible. If you do use these horrible people make sure you negotiate a price BEFOREHAND regardless of any promises they make about "paying whatever you like later” '.

  Then again the only reply to this goes very much like this:

  'I have been to PP several times and spent weeks there and we have always found tuk-tuk drivers to be honest, nice, and good-natured guys'.

• Talking of inflation, tour companies in Siem Reap are increasingly being confronted with
  

  'profit loss on tour package sales for tourist coming to Cambodia as price of goods is steadily growing'.

• A snap-shot of Phnom Penh’s roads:

  ‘In the days of a pavement-less Phnom Penh, engulfed in roads of dust and mud, the water used to wash most dishes in the city was less than clean’.

  This from 'Streetside Snacks, a guide to eating on the street' from Cambodia Pocket Guide.

• Another article from the same source but without an i-link, Rolling Thunder:

  'The first thing I recommend is to install ”I am a truck, not a car” air horns. The effect is amazing. Watch the road ahead of motos and general floatsam move over as you pound your Hornmaster 5000. … A horn is your best friend, use it. Your second best friend is your rear-view mirror. … Get your own heavy duty candle power lights … really really big ones'.

  Justin Garnett, the author, then gives his final advise:

  'Drive slowly, use your eyes, stay calm (I struggle with this one), don’t drive at night and you should be fine. Even better don’t drive at all. Stay at home'.

  !

• Back to the Khmer New Year. The Bayon Pearnik (issue 141, May 2008) besides describing the traffic mayhem that’s Khmer New Year ('New records set' from the Cockroach Corner) also mentions ('on a cheerful note') that the bridges on the road to Koh Kong were thrown open, but only for the holidays. Here’s a link to a recent view of the road to Koh Kong.

• Fables of the unknown?

  'An Indian company wants to invest in an airport and an electric cable car system in the Preah Vihear Temple region'.

  Will it see the light?

  'Hang Sot [director of the Preah Vihear National Authority] said: “We don’t know as yet when the project will start or how much it will cost'.

• Another dream up in smoke? Despite it being a Cambodian carrier, Angkor Airways is a Taiwanese company, so it seems. Anyway that’s irrelevant as it’s company

  'has run into financial difficulties after the detention of a top company executive on criminal charges in Taiwan'.

  Another article sheds more light:

  'Lou [the detainee] was responsible for the financial management of the branch, the carrier said, and without him, the branch faced insurmountable cash flow problems'.

  Let’s hope the Indonesian connection works out better for Cambodia’s so called flag carrier, wherever it may be!

• Well, last years crash in the Cardomons is in serious need of revelations a la 'Aircraft crash Investigation':

  'The investigation of the plane’s flight recorders, or black boxes, was concluded in March but it is still unknown what caused the crash’,

  the Cambodia Daily reports on May 6. The main scandal is that the relatives of the deceased still haven’t received an adequate compensation with the airline (PMT) referring to an unnamed insurer. The State Secretariat for Civil Aviation refuses

  'to provide details about the planes owner, the insurance company or what investigators discovered from examining the black boxes'.

  In this light it’s great news that the Indonesians will be shaking up the civil aviation scene in Cambodia. Or not?

• Did anyone have questions concerning Cambodia Daily’s (May 9, 2008) article headline 'Bridge from S’ville to Snake Island Nearly Done'? Excerpts from the first paragraphs:

  'On June 7, PM is scheduled to officially inaugurate the construction of a bridge connecting Sihanoukville with Snake Island as part of a $300 million project to develop the site, officials said. … Nop Heng, director of Sihanoukville’s Public Works and Transport department said the bridge which is expected to take two years to build,'

  So not so nearly done! It’s also not clear whether or not the bridge is meant for traffic. Concerning the aforementioned Angkor Airways is it not strange that in this case the Snake Island Investment Group’s Executive Director 13-year prison sentence has no influence on the project, while with the detention of Angkor Airway’s owner, the company folds?

Well that’s all from 'Cambodia: worth a wager (?)' Crossing

Chasing Cars, Cambodian Style 12-12-2007

• Connecting Phnom Penh to Europe, Air Finland is connecting us with ...., no not Finland, but Sweden and only 3 times per month and only for a couple of months. And you can only book seats if you can read Finnish. And the future is bright, as the five year old company has only 1 plane, according to Wikipedia (Dutch version, English version is not up to date).

• The price of fuel (continued): Vrom Vietnam comes the lamentations concerning subsidizing their petrol prices and a big chunk of Cambodia's fuel bill. The result:

  'Vietnamese farmers cannot purchase oil for their pumps because filling stations and privately owned petrol shops only want to sell oil and petrol to Cambodians who will pay more'.

  So what to do? In Vietnam the response is to lament:

  'Our staff is too small to deal with the strong force of illegal exporters, Mr Tien, Head of the Ha Tien Border Gate’s Customs Agency said'.

  On the other side of Cambodia, local Thai authorities are not sitting idle:

  'People in Cambodia's Koh Kong province are facing a shortage of cooking gas after Thai authorities stepped up a campaign against unauthorised exports of cooking gas'.

  Again supplying Cambodia with subsidized gas is the culprit. And what is Cambodia's view of the situation? Sokimex (a local fuel supplier) owner, Sok Kong, he just reiterates all the complaining Cambodians who are stuck with high 'official' prices but for their moto's it's a low price, because the Thai and the Vietnamese are subsidizing them.

  'And for us, we are so poor that we don't have that[subsidies]'.

  He does however have some hope for Khmer citizens:

  'We might be able to reduce the oil price in 2010 or 2020 when we can extract our crude oil'.

  An anonymous writes in on KI Media:

  'The price of gasoline is kept artificially high to ensure that Sokimex (owned by Sok Kong) and Tela (owned by Bun Rany) can smuggle cheap gasoline from Vietnam and make extraordinary profits'.

• And what happens to the collected taxes and savings made from not financing increasing global warning: a 10 million dollar road programme is 'corrupted':

  'Many roads are left the same; nothing improves .... he [foreign engineer] reported that he did not see any repairmen or equipment on the road in Kampong Thom province'.

• Letter to the Editor, Cambodia Daily, December 11, 2007:

  'Phnom Penh's Traffic Problem needs Fixing
  With influx of tourists and foreign direct and indirect investments, public transports have now become, to me personally, the biggest problem facing Phnom Penh. Currently in Phnom Penh most of the roads are jammed all the time, which affects public order, loses us time, blocks most economic activity, and negatively affects other financial benefits of the people and entities. Cambodia seems to have no traffic experts at all, and everyone seems to be ignorant about the impact this problem could have on the economy. I hope the government acts now to facilitate everyone's livelihood, as well as attracting even more foreign investment.
  Lay Vicheka, Hong Kong'.

  Key words: ignorant

(De-)congestion

Today (May 17,2007) the Nation's (Thailand's no.2 English newspaper) foreign correspondent has nothing better to do than report from New York on hearsay from London and how to extrapolate this to Bangkok. Possibly the Nation might send him on a fact-finding mission to Singapore, which is way ahead of London on traffic control. Then again they are not so loud about it.

London's mayor gives Bangkok advice on easing its traffic congestion

"Get cars off the streets" is the strongest piece of advice leaders of some of the world's greenest capitals can give to their counterparts from cities plagued by pollution and congestion.

In no uncertain terms, they argue it is the most effective way to improve the quality of life and reduce carbon emissions.

London Mayor Ken Livingstone's "congestion pricing" has become a model success story that drew attention, whether awe or scepticism, from many mayors and city managers attending the second day of the "Large Cities Climate Summit" yesterday in New York.

Addressing the panel discussing "Beating the Congestion and Surviving Your Next Election" at the four-day summit of some 40 of the world's largest cities, Livingstone acknowledged the fears of many elected mayors that their political future could be jeopardized by drastic measures to tax drivers for taking their cars to trade and business centres.

"When I introduced the measure four years ago, my poll rating was bad, the media were hostile and gave disastrous predictions; it was all doom and gloom, no one would drive, retail shops and businesses in the controlled area would have to shut down," he recalled.

"Tony Blair wanted to appear as if he had nothing do with it. The government gave us money to expand the bus system but hoped nobody knew about it."

But he then listed how the measure improved flows of traffic in the city: the number of cars in the centre of London has been reduced by 38 per cent, a rate Livingstone said was twice more than he anticipated. Commercial vehicles increased, the number of cyclists increased 80 per cent, while bus riders increased from four to six million a day.

As a result, carbon emissions from the transport sector reduced 25 per cent.

Livingstone noted that his political courage to introduce the measure came from being pressured by London's business community. Congestion in the city cost ฃ2 billion (Bt140 billion) in business losses a year. London had lost its competitiveness and businesses threatened to relocate elsewhere, he said.

The mayor of London said he expanded the controlled areas by doubling them early this year and increased charges from ฃ5 to ฃ8 with similar hostility from the media, but opinion polls stated that his political approval went up.

"Politicians like to underestimate the intelligence of the general public - trust your people that they recognise the problem. In four years my poll has gone up 14 per cent and they don't want to vote for my rival because they fear my rival would remove congestion pricing."

Bangkok Governor Apirak Kosayodhin told Livingstone he was interested in his success story but had little clue how a gridlocked city like Thailand's capital with 5.5 millions cars on the street every day could begin the measure without a good public transit system.

"We only have 50km combined of Skytrain and subway. The buses are run by the central government. We want to introduce the charge but don't have a proper mass transit system. Do we need to have the system in place first or could we start now in the inner city?"

Livingstone's advice is to improve the bus system because subways take a long time to construct. He said in the case of London, the number of buses increased from 6,000 to 8,000 along with the introduction of new routes, and the private sector played a key role in helping with finance.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg praised Livingstone's scheme. If he has his way, drivers who want to enter inner Manhattan will have to pay US$8 (Bt267).

The Mayor of Copenhagen, Klaus Bondam, said he had wanted to introduce congestion charging for some time but the right-wing central government opposed the idea by not issuing legislation. "Copenhagen is much smaller than Bangkok with only 500,000 residents, but noise and air pollution from the traffic bothers our residents, so we want to discourage cars from getting into the city. We will continue to fight for what is right," he said.
Nantiya Tangwisutijit

Well, the Thai side fail to look at their own solution, elevated toll roads. And why would 'buses run by the central government' impede seeking a solution?

Could the Cambodia Daily afford to send a reporter overseas to see if there any talking heads with clear advice on how to decongest Phnom Penh? Or at at least avoid more congestion. On yer bike? Or should he/she take a moto?