In spite of the many thousands of complaints that the YBS has garnered since its launch, now and again a story pops up that makes you think that perhaps not all hope is lost. Earlier this week, one Yangon citizen was surprised when she was contacted by the driver of a bus that she had ridden earlier in the week on which she had dropped a MMK5000 note into the cash box without receiving any change.
As 7Day reports, on Saturday, a passenger who boarded the YBS 39 bus dropped a 5000-kyat note in the cash box because she didn’t have enough spare change for the K200 bus fare. When she informed the driver and asked for the K4,800 in change, the latter told her that he himself didn’t have enough change to give back.
However when the bus returned to the main gate, the driver informed his supervisors of what happened. After having previously verified with other passengers that the woman had put a 5000-kyat note in the box, bus officials opened the box and lo and behold, the note was there.
They then put up the story on social media and was able to track down the woman the next day. When they met up, the bus driver returned the 5000-kyat note and the passenger paid her bus fare, this time with a 200-kyat note.
However, because it’s the internet, not everyone thought that the gesture was so kind. On social media, several users called it ‘over the top’ and ‘unnecessary’.
While we agree that the YBS might have other slightly more pressing issues to deal with, it’s not entirely fair to call the act ‘over the top’. Considering that a bus ride is K200, one 5000-kyat note can cover 25 rides, which is a lot of rides. It might seem like a small gesture, but we bet it still meant a lot to that one passenger.
