Phnom Penh - Transport

Transport

Phnom Penh International Airport is the largest and busiest airport in Cambodia. It is located 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) west of central Phnom Penh. Taxis, pick-ups, and minibuses leave the city for destinations all over the country, but are fast losing ground to cheaper and more comfortable buses. Phnom Penh also has a rail service.

Cambodia's national flag carrier, Cambodia Angkor Air, launched in 2009, is headquartered in Phnom Penh and has its main hub there, with an additional hub at the Angkor International Airport. Budget flights from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to Phnom Penh are operated by AirAsia, a regional low-cost carrier. Other budget flights include Jetstar Asia Airways (a subsidiary of QANTAS) who provide daily flights from Singapore.

Air France announced October 20, 2010, that it will begin to serve Phnom Penh from Paris-Charles de Gaulle starting March 27, 2011.

There are numerous bus companies, including Phnom Penh Public Transport and GST Express, running services to most provincial capitals, including Sihanoukville, Kampong Chhnang, Udong and Takéo. Phnom Penh Sorya Transport Co. offers bus travel to several provincial destinations along the National Routes and to Ho Chi Minh City. Motorcycles and bicycles are popular forms of travel in the city.

Although the city is 290 kilometres (180 mi) from the sea, it is home to Cambodia's main freshwater port, a major port on the Mekong River valley, and it is linked to the South China Sea via a channel of the Mekong delta in Vietnam.

Phnom Penh does not currently have any mass public transport, although the Japanese government attempted to develop a Phnom Penh shuttle bus service in 2001. An update of the JICA urban transport masterplan for Phnom Penh is due for completion in 2014, and may not be implemented until 2035. Local means of public transportation within the city include the cycle rickshaw, known in Khmer as "cyclo", the motorcycle taxi known in Khmer as "moto", the auto rickshaw known locally as "tuk-tuk", the trailer attached to a motorcycle taxi known in Khmer as "remorque", and the standard automobile taxicab known in Khmer as "taxi". Private forms of transportation include bicycles, motorbikes and automobiles.