Photo by: Sovan Philong
Tuk-tuk drivers wait for customers around Independence Monument during the Water Festival earlier this month.
(Posted by CAAI News Media)
Wednesday, 18 November 2009 15:02 May Titthara
CITY Hall has announced it will stop fining tuk-tuk drivers who lack licence plates until the end of the year, but a ban on tuk-tuks driving along Norodom Boulevard is set to remain in place.
“We will postpone the fining of tuk-tuk drivers without licence plates until December 30. After that, we will start to punish them again,” said Phnom Penh Deputy Governor Chreang Sophan.
The decision was prompted by a meeting between driver representatives and municipal officals on Monday, at which drivers asked authorities to temporarily stop fining those who lacked licence plates so that they could have time to obtain their plates.
They also asked the government to again permit tuk-tuks to drive along Norodom Boulevard south of the Independence Monument to Preah Monivong Bridge.
Kim Saphan, a driver representative, said it was difficult for drivers to get licence plates because of the US$35 fee and because supply did not meet demand.
“It is very hard for us to get a licence plate because there are a lot of tuk-tuk drivers who need it. But authorities can only issue it to 10 drivers at a time,” he said.
Nhem Saron, director of the Municipal Department of Public Works and Transport, said drivers must all respect the Land Traffic Law. “We did allow [tuk-tuks] to drive along Norodom Boulevard, but they did not respect" the law, he said.
City Hall cabinet chief Koet Chhe said the city did not allow tuk-tuks to drive along Norodom Boulevard because they wanted to keep roads clear for foreign delegations visiting Cambodia.
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