Yangon’s new bus system officially in place

It’s the start of a new week and for Yangon, the beginning of an era — as the first of several public transport reforms, today is the day the city’s bus system starts running along 61 new routes.

Disregarding BM and Dyna buses, approximately 3700 buses are now operating under the new system, which is meant to make public transportation within the city more efficient.

To compensate for the inevitable teething problems that the next few weeks will bring, the Yangon Region Transport Authority (YRTA) announced over the weekend that they will be using a trial payment system under which all bus fares will not exceed MMK200 regardless of distance; this excludes buses heading to Thanlyin and outside city limits.

Authorities will also be monitoring vehicles to ensure their quality of service is up to par.

Looking ahead, there are talks about implementing CCTV and GPS systems in the buses after three months, and of installing a card payment system.

Last week, authorities called for volunteers to hand out flyers of the new routes at each bus stop and help any lost or confused citizens. Color-coded maps have also been erected at each stop for reference.

The YRTA has also acknowledged that a few more routes might be added over the coming weeks as adjustments are made accordingly.

Unfortunately, as exciting as this new system is, there are already multiple complaints on social media as commuters waited around this morning for late buses that are seemingly still trying to get accustomed to the new journeys. Additionally, some commuters have pointed out that because of the rerouting, what used to be a one-stop trip will now take them two or three stops, meaning that their daily commute fair will also increase.

Overall though, and in spite of its teething problems, the new system actually seems pretty organized. Here’s hoping that the YRTA will find a way to address most commuters’ problems — hey, you can’t please everyone — over the coming weeks and months. After all, this is the kind of overhaul that Yangon’s public transport system has been needing for years.

All of the bus routes can be found on the YRTA’s official Yangon Bus System site, and on their official Android app (no word yet on an iOS app, although we assume/hope that’s on its way). The Yangon Bus Service’s hotline number is 012399881. You can also follow updates on the Yangon Bus Service Facebook page.

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