New day dawns for Yangon bus system
Today it begins – Yangon’s brand new experiment in public transport. In a major step toward reducing consumer chaos and hazardous competition among private bus lines, the number of routes has been reduced to only 61, starting on January 16. On January 14, Yangon Region Chief Minister U Phyo Min Thein announced that no further applications from would-be bus owners would be accepted. As of today, about 3700 “official” buses will be plying the streets, not counting BM and Dyna vehicles used to transport passengers. “All the bus owners involved in the new system will be operating their lines, and no more applications will be considered,” said the chief minister. Nor will unregistered bus companies be allowed to use compressed natural gas provided by the city. “All registered buses will be able to use CNG, which will be allocated to them on an equal basis. But buses that are not registered will no longer have access,” said U Phyo Min Thein.
