Ride-hailing Apps Erode Livelihoods Of Cambodia’s Remorques, Motodops
By Vijian Paramasivam
PHNOM PENH, Oct 18 (NNN) -- Cambodia’s traditional transport operators, from motodop riders to remorque drivers, are losing fares to ride-hailing apps, and with them their livelihoods.
For decades, iconic motodops (motorcycle taxis) and remorques (motorcycle-powered passenger carriages) have transported people to markets, offices, schools and homes, weaving through traffic in the congested capital at all hours.
However, the introduction of modern, technology-driven vehicles – such as electric tuk-tuks (auto rickshaws) and ride-hailing platforms backed by well-financed companies, is transforming Cambodia’s urban transportation system.
“They have given up their work. They cannot compete with modern transportation systems that are technology-oriented. Earning a living has become very hard for these people,” Vorn Pov, president of the Independent Democracy of Informal Economy Association, told Bernama.
“Many are from the older generation and they are not able to read or manage apps, and some do now want to change. They leave their jobs and move to other unrelated general work.”
Motorcycle taxis are popular in Southeast Asian societies due to demand for short-distance travel and to avoid massive traffic gridlock.
In the Philippines, it is called habal-habal, motosai in Thailand and ojek in Indonesia.
Bike taxis and remorques have carved an important legacy among the three million people in Phnom Penh, crisscrossing the capital at odd hours and remaining faithful to their neighbourhood customers.
Without a social safety net to fall back on, many older drivers relied on their memory, carrying their customers to destinations they knew by heart day after day.
Today, resourceful brands like Grab, Tada, and PassApp – backed by modern ride-hailing technologies and workforce have slowly replaced traditional service providers.
Big data, AI-driven automation, mobile bookings and payments, faster internet access and a new generation of tech-savvy commuters are changing how people travel around Cambodia’s cities.
Freelance old-fashioned transport providers struggle to compete with companies that offer incentives, extensive advertising and widely accessible service at affordable rates.
“I wait for nearly three hours in the morning just to earn five thousand riel (US$1.25 or RM5) to drop one customer. It has become so hard for me to survive.
“I can’t earn a living anymore in Phnom Penh. All my customers now prefer ride-hailing apps. There are so many drivers and these companies offer cheaper rates,” Chea Vorsak, a rural-urban migrant worker from Kampot province, told Bernama.
Thirty-year-old Chea has been a motorcycle taxi rider for over seven years, working indefinite hours to support his ageing parents, who are both farmers.
On average, bike taxi riders could earn about US$17 per day (RM69) before the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020, but now it is hard to earn US$7 (RM29) a day.
About 20,000 tuk-tuk drivers are operating in the capital, many attached to established ride-hailing operators, according to the association.
--NNN
