Tuk-tuk drivers earn temporary reprieve from numberplate law

PHNOM PENH, CAMBODIA // Authorities in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia, have vowed to stop fining tuk-tuk drivers whose vehicles lack licence plates until December 30. Many drivers claim that licence plates are in short supply and, at US$35 (Dh128), the fees are prohibitively expensive. The average monthly income of tuk-tuk drivers in Phnom Penh is US$216 (Dh793). Postponement of the fines was announced after a meeting between driver representatives and municipal officials. However, the authorities are not relaxing a ban that prevents tuk-tuk drivers from travelling along Norodom Boulevard, a major thoroughfare for Phnom Penh. Tuk-tuk drivers were briefly allowed back on Norodom Boulevard earlier this year but were banned again this month because of illegal driving. "We did allow [tuk-tuks] to drive along Norodom Boulevard, but they did not respect the law," said Nhem Saron, director of the Municipal Department of Public Works and Transport.