City Hall yesterday announced that the first 20 buses donated by the Japanese government through the Japanese International Cooperation Agency have been received, while the remaining 60 will arrive in the upcoming months.

City Hall spokesman Met Meas Pheakdey said that 80 buses are to be donated to Phnom Penh to serve as public transportation.

He noted that 20 buses arrived in the capital last week and will soon serve as part of an expansion of bus routes throughout the city.

“We plan to expand the number of city bus lines to meet the demand for public transportation services,” Mr Meas Pheakdey said. “We are also considering adding the new buses to our existing fleet because the number of commuters have increased.”

The donation is part of a commitment by the Japanese government to donate a total of 140 buses over the next two years, estimated to cost about $8 million.

Phnom Penh launched its first public transportation service in 2014. As of this year, there are eight operational city bus lines with 157 city buses, serving up to 20,000 passengers per day.

According to City Hall, the buses will accommodate commuters looking to avoid traffic congestion around busy parts of the city.

“Support for city buses has increased because people are now more aware about using public transportation to avoid traffic jams,” Mr Meas Pheakdey said. “Next, we’re going to expand the bus routes from the capital into surrounding provinces, but for now our focus is on Phnom Penh.”