Yangon Water Bus boats arrive in Yangon from Australia

One of the Yangon Water Bus boats is unloaded in Yangon. Photo: Facebook / Yangon Water Bus
One of the Yangon Water Bus boats is unloaded in Yangon. Photo: Facebook / Yangon Water Bus

The first two vessels in the Yangon Water Bus fleet arrived from Australia yesterday at Yangon’s Nanthida Jetty, where they will undergo government inspections.

“We’ve had an international search for the safest and most reliable vessels,” said Yangon Water Bus CEO Matthew Lloyd in a video posted to the company’s Facebook page.

Additional vessels will be built in Bangkok, Phuket, and Yangon. The company said the fleet will be served by between 50 and 70 vessels by the end of this year.

The boats will come in three sizes, with respective capacities for 200, 160, and 60 passengers.

The service will include three routes running in the Yangon River, the Nga Moe Yeik Creek and the Pazundaung Creek. The longest route, which will run from Hlaingthayar to Botahtaung will have an estimated travel time of 1.5 hours. Boats will be scheduled to leave from each of the service’s 25 jetties every 20 minutes.

The service will run from 6am to 6:30pm daily.

“I’m excited to transform the public transport service industry in Yangon. I look forward to providing a reliable and safe service, and I look forward to the many jobs created by this wonderful operation,” Lloyd said in the video.

“This will be a way to reduce air pollution and congestion,” said Tint Tint Lwin, chairperson of Tint Tint Myanmar Company, the local partner implementing the K37 billion water bus project. She also said the service will be able to accommodate 20,000 daily riders when it first launches.

Fares are expected to range between K300 and K500.

The date of the opening ceremony and route details are expected to be announced next week.

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