In any city or urban center, public bus transport system is an essential city services infrastructure. Every day, lots of people commute to work, to do business, attend school classes and etc. In Port Moresby, the situation is no different. Here are some basic facts about the Port Moresby bus public bus service.
Public bus service is operated by private individual PMV owners
Unlike other cities in the developing world, Port Moresby’s city public bus transport system is serviced by individual local PMV owners. It not operated by the single public entity under the supervision of the local city authority of the the government. Because of this arrangement, commuters interests and concerns are left at the mercy of the PMV operators with very limited regulatory measures. Some of the missing standards service elements include the following.
No bus time schedule.
So buses compete for passengers at the bus stops. In early morning rush and evening rush hours, the bus stops become crowded with commuters to get a vacant seat in a bus. It’s on a first come, first serve basis. During the day, when commuter traffic is low, bus drivers will have to wait for enough passengers to fill in before they depart the bus stand. Commuters will have to wait as bus drivers decide when to leave the bus stand. So if you are new to the city, don’t expect the buses to run on set time schedule.
No bus ticket system to pay for tickets.
There is no bus ticketing system where visitors and locals and buy bus tickets like in other cities. The Government approved bus fare rate is K2.00 (US$.50 cents) flat rate. It doesn’t matter whether your your trip is a shorter or longer distance (several bus stands). As a result, drivers will have to wait at bus stands if there are less passengers. During rush hour times, they will not complete their designated routes and instead move passengers between two bus stops that are of close distance. This causes inconveniences for bus commuters and in worse cases, stranded at the bus stands.
In addition, bus services closes at 7 or 8 pm and if a commuter is stranded at a bus stand, he or she has no option but to get a taxi which can be very expensive, depending on distance from the bus stand to the desired destination.
Make sure to have local currency (Kina) coins and smaller denomination notes (K2,K5,K10 notes to pay for bus fare inside the bus. The bus driver’s assistant (often called Bus Crew) will collect the bus fare and give back the change.
The routes doesn’t serve the residential and workplace streets.
The public bus transport services use designated routes that follow only the main highway or streets. It doesn’t run into typical residential or office block streets. So commuters need to walk back and forth to the nearest main road bus stands. This has impacted business in terms of employee time loss and security concerns for staff. So, most public and business organizations organize their own staff pick up and drop of services for their staff.
A numbering system is used to identify the routes. For example, buses with No 9 runs from services between Geheru and Boroko. Only the number is painted in front or side of the buses, and not the names of places along the route.
On the NCD Commission (the city Municipal Authority) website, there is very little information about the city’s transportation system, for visitors to find information.
The Road Traffic Authority-national public statutory body in charge of road transport regulations and policy matters does not have any information for city bus service users.
No NCD Commission Visitor Information Booths
The NCD Commission does not have city information booths for visitors, tourists, general public in popular places like Shopping Centers, Jacksons International Airport and Sports Stadiums and etc. So all information should be through contacts and experience sharing for visitors and locals alike.
So the best bet is to go with a local guide. Most hotels do provide vital information to their guests if they need help.
The Bus Route Map
Another missing piece is the names of bus stands. Although, there are bus stands along the bus routes in the city, there is no visible bus stand names. It is assumed every commuter knows where to get off while the bus stops. The bus drivers and crews won’t announce the next stop either.
So, if you are new to the city, go with a friend or local guide to avoid getting off at the wrong bus stand.
Buses are Mini Buses only.
Another important information for visitors to the city is the kind of buses that are used on the city bus routes. They are mainly Toyota brand mini buses. These are not the kind of big buses visitors are used to in other cities. These buses have a capacity of 25 seats.
Tourists and Visitors often avoid using the Bus System.
It’s also interesting that not many tourists and foreigners will use the public bus system in the city. They have their own transport arrangements and use their private vehicles. As mentioned earlier, in the absence of the key elements of a public bus system, they don’t want to take the risk of being lost or inconvenienced.
To sum, if you are a local tourist or visitor, get your relative, wantok, friends or contacts to help you get around if you prefer to use the city bus service.
If you are foreign tourist or visitor, its good to ask your hotel front desk staff for assistance. If you have contacts in the city then its good to use your contacts to get around.
