Twenty-nine bus companies have agreed not to raise ticket prices on the eve of the upcoming Khmer New Year holiday after a meeting with officials from the Ministry of Public Works and Transport yesterday morning.

Though prices will be higher throughout the holiday, the 29 companies listed with the ministry agreed not to hike prices even further on the day before the start of the holiday – which sees some of the heaviest travel as Cambodians across the country return to their hometowns to see family – said Ministry of Public Works and Transport secretary of state Tauch Chankosal.

“We had hoped that they could join the government in helping people travel back to their hometowns happily, without complaints about ticket prices,” he said.

He added that in the case of private transportation, however, it is more difficult for the ministry to intervene as their businesses are not listed.

Chem Chomnan, director of the Cambodia Bus Association, said that while bus companies have promised not to increase fares, they could not say the same for private taxis and vans, as they had “always increased [prices] by themselves”.