State-owned postal service Cambodia Post launched a point-to-point van service yesterday, to tap into the rising demand for passenger transportation, in a bid to increase its revenue from domestic services.

Director General of Cambodia Post Ork Bora said the new passenger van service will capitalise on the rising number of passengers in Cambodia, as well as supplement its postal services.

“The van service is not only to serve passengers but also to make our Express Mail Service faster,” he said.

“It is our first step, so we will just operate 10 vans with 16 seats, of which 12 will be for passengers and four for mail services.”

Bora said they will add 10 more vans next year.

“With our new service, our customers will be satisfied and the fare will be below the competition’s.”

The new service will run from Phnom Penh to multiple provinces, like Sihanoukville, Svay Rieng and Battambang, and will cost between $5 and $14, depending on the distance.

“With this, we hope to increase our revenues by around $400,000 per year or 10 per cent of the total revenues,” he added.

Currently Cambodia Post’s van service is used only for delivering post to the different provinces.

Minister of Post and Telecom Prak Sokhon, who presided over the launch, said successful implementation of the new van service would build more trust in Cambodia Post’s service quality.

“The launch of passenger and EMS vans will contribute to improving the domestic services of Cambodia Post, which brings in less than 5 per cent [of revenues] as compared to foreign mail services,” Sokhon said.

Phan Na, director general of Phnom Penh Sorya Transportation, which operates more than 100 buses and vans nationwide, welcomed the new participant in the sector.

“The more competition there is, the more choice for our passengers,” he said.

“We are not worried. Instead, this will make us improve our service and safety standards.”

Cambodia has more than 10 licensed bus transportation companies, but 20 other services are operating illegally.