Around 30 taxi drivers who ply their trade at Phnom Penh International Airport yesterday asked Phnom Penh Governor Kep Chuktema to reject the proposal that will be made by Lours Seiha, director of the Moto-Taxi Drivers' Association, to create a tuk-tuk association this Wednesday.
The drivers are angry because the association wants to change from providing a moto-taxi service using small mopeds to offering larger tuktuks, Phay Sohon, director of the Taxi Drivers' Association at Phnom Penh International Airport, explained at a protest in front of the Phnom Penh Municipality yesterday. Taxi drivers oppose the request as moto-taxi drivers already make a good profit, he explained, so there is no need to provide a tuk-tuk service that would be in direct competition with car taxis. The Taxi Drivers' Association is a legal organization and the law clearly states that the Moto-Taxi Drivers' Association, part of the Cambodian Association for Informal Economy Development, cannot change its business to offer a tuk-tuk service.
"Taxi drivers are not satisfied with the creation of a tuk-tuk association because, if there were tuk-tuk services at Phnom Penh International Airport, it would be a competition to get customers at the airport," said Hem Sareth, a taxi driver and representative of the Taxi Drivers' Association."[The association] would make it difficult for taxi drivers to earn a living, as local and international visitors prefer tuk-tuks to taxis."
Chreang Sophan, deputy Phnom Penh governor in charge of public works, explained that the Phnom Penh Municipality has neither rejected nor approved the moto-taxi's request to begin driving tuk-tuks, assuring that there will be further discussions with the Ministry of Public Works and Transport. The creation of a tuk-tuk association would be in accordance with Prime Minister Hun Sen's wishes, Chreang Sophan said. The Taxi Drivers Associations was created in 1993 and currently counts 82 taxi drivers as members. It has warned that, if the Phnom Penh Municipality approves the use of tuk-tuks at the airport, Phnom Penh International Airport taxi drivers will go on strike.
Suon Samnang is a reporter for The Mekong Times
This article first appeared in The Mekong Times
The Mekong Times is a daily newspaper distributed in Cambodia.
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