The two month mark of the new Yangon Bus Service System passed on March 17. The new bus system has been plagued by complaints since it was launched in January. At this point some commuters remain unhappy with their service, noting a lack of enough buses to carry everyone and sometimes late services.
Much of the bus system dilemma has been put down to a lack of planning and the overnight change when it did come into effect, replacing the chaotic older system. There are currently 79 bus lines operated on by more than 3,500 buses to transport the people of Yangon on a daily basis.
Among those, only 1,500 buses meet the quality standards set by the regional authorities. Overcrowding at bus stops can still be seen, especially before 8 am and after 5 pm.
In response to the problems, Yangon Region Transport Authority (YRTA) Secretary Maung Aung said that all Yangon Bus Service (YBS) management is taken care of by YRTA and headed by Yangon Region Chief Minister Phyo Min Thein. Hideaki Matsuo, Counsellor of the Embassy of Japan to Myanmar, said that the new Yangon Bus System (YBS) is to the specifications which the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) laid out in their proposal. Maung Aung added that “All the new bus systems, including reformation of public-private partnerships and changing of bus routes are planned by the regional government office, not based on the master plan which was proposed by the JICA. To employ the master plan will take a long time. Foreign experts do not know the situation and needs of the country like local people. That is why we haven’t used that one”.
But there are other issues with the Yangon Bus System (YBS). The Yangon government officially announced that they will take strong action against bus drivers and conductors who will not adapt to the new policies yet familiar problems are being reported. For example- on February 16, two bus conductors from bus-line No. 6 were caught and handed over to Insein Police for committing physical assault against a female passenger at a bus-stop. There have been over 500 complaints made about the bus system since it was launched.
Phyo Min Thein, Chief Minister of Yangon, vowed that the Yangon bus line will meet international standard by 2018. The aim over the next few months is to introduce an electronic swipe-card system. The Yangon Payment System is going to be launched by April. YPS cards will be accepted on all buses, trains, and other means of transport as well as for other services. Phyo Min Thein added “That [kind of] system is not new, it’s international and we are late to use it in this region. So, we can take the advantage to use the latest technology which may not be available in other (ASEAN) countries”
The regional government has also instructed bus owners to install GPS systems and place CCTV cameras in all their buses to ensure that every bus line is under the control of YRTP. CCTV will also be installed at not only all traffic stations but also bus/ train stations. To begin with, 250 stations in major areas are going to be upgraded to meet international standard to ensure the prevention of pickpockets on the buses as well as protection of female passengers from sexual harassment.
Moreover, to enforce the law there will be 10 patrol cars which will monitor and examine the buses. The tasks of monitoring will be managed via a collaboration between Yangon Traffic Police and the relevant persons from YRTA.
Part of solution to Yangon traffic jam, Yangon Region Transport Administration (YRTA) announced its plan to reduce the over 66,000 taxis which currently running in Yangon in January. The government will seek to reduce the number of taxis in Myanmar’s largest city and convert unnecessary cabs into private cars. Depending on city requirements and the number of passengers who usually take taxis, they will coordinate and balance the situation. Some taxis will be changed into private cars if they are deemed unnecessary. Currently, authorities are collecting data on city taxis, though this is complicated by the fact that many taxis in Yangon have been registered outside Yangon Region, and some are not licensed at all.
Singapore – based Grab and US-based Uber has announced their plan to enter Myanmar market. Grab announced its launch in the country on March 21 and Uber expressed its plan to within a more ambiguous time frame of “soon”. JICA submitted a transport master plan in 2014, detailing the future of the city’s public transportation up to 2040. At the time that the plan was put forward Yangon was deeply in need of a revised bus system following the USDP implemented bus plan that saw more than 130 bus routes across the city and almost as many bus companies directly competing with one other. The competition led to extremely dangerous driving with buses literally racing each other to pick up customers while the buses themselves were often substandard, out of date and dangerous to ride in. Around 70,000 people use the circular trains on daily basis. The Ministry of Rail Transportation and has already received a $206 million official development assistance loan from the Japan International Cooperation Agency to provide for 66 new diesel multiple unit trains. The Ministry will select a contractor for the upgrade plan by the first quarter of 2018 with a deadline to finish work by August 2020. Ten new air-conditioned coaches already arrived in Myanmar from Japan in September of last year. Currently, trains take over 3 hours to get around the city and run at intervals of between 12 and 45 minutes. From 2020 trains will take less than 2 hours and the intervals will be between 10 and 12 minutes. Under the Yangon regional government’s plan railway transport will be upgraded and water taxis, running on Hlaing River and Nga Moe Yeik River, will be introduced to lesson the traffic problem. Regarding the water taxis service, YRTA invited tenders between November 20 to December 26 last year and only two local companies’ submitted proposals. Tin Tin Myanmar, which has been running the Irrawaddy Princess Cruise between Mandalay and Bagan won the tender. The water taxi service is set to launch in early May. The number of ferries and fares for the service are yet to be decided.
