Impact of COVID-19 on Paratransit Services Operating with Ride-Hailing Apps: The Phnom Penh Case

• Published in: Journal of the Eastern Asia Society for Transportation Studies Vol. 15; pp. 1 - 15
• Main Authors: YANG, Panha, PHUN, Veng Kheang, YAI, Tetsuo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Eastern Asia Society for Transportation Studies 2024
• Subjects: COVID-19; Paratransit; Ride-Hailing Apps; Semi-log regression; Stepwise multiple linear regression
• ISSN: 1881-1124
• DOI: 10.11175/easts.15.1

Due to the introduction of lockdown and curfew hours to control and minimize the spread of COVID-19, the most impact part of transport sector is paratransit drivers. This study aims to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 on paratransit services operating with Ride-Hailing App in Phnom Penh. Questionnaire surveys were used to collect data from 233 paratransit drivers who operate their services with RHA from Dec 30, 2020-Jan 02, 2021. The results show that drivers decrease in monthly income by approximately 49%, number of daily passengers by 59%, and monthly revenue by 46%. Drivers also expressed the difficultly of their livelihood during the pandemic such as payment for loans, high app commission fees and financial issues etc. The outcome of this study would be a good assistance for transportation planners, policymaking, government authorities such as knowledge or information to better guideway for COVID-19 pandemic response or another pandemic response.