During the Thingyan holiday of 2024, highway bus fares tend to rise as usual, with Yangon-Mawgyun minibuses, which accommodates up to 14 passengers, increasing from the usual rate of K10,000 to K12,000 per passenger before the holiday, according to travellers.
If passengers don’t book the ticket in advance, the fare will be as high as K17,000 during the Myanmar New Year holidays. Normally, the taxi rental fee from Mawgyun to Yangon was only K120,000, but these days taxi drivers charged K25,000 per person, allowing seven passengers per vehicle.
The driver mentioned that there are few passengers available on the way back from Yangon to Mawgyun, with those working in Yangon for the Thingyan holiday spending around K50,000 for a round-trip fare per person.
In addition to the waterways, there are passenger lines that run from Hlinethaya Highway Bus Terminal, but very few people travel to Mawgyun by bus.
In the past, the fee for large speed boat was around K6,000 per passenger, but now, during the holiday season for travellers, the price was higher than the ordinary rate, and the number of passengers allowed for a large craft was around 300 to 400, a passenger told the GNLM.
Prior to 2015, during the Thingyan holidays, when there were many passengers, large speed boats install a temporary shelter on the roof to carry passengers.
Carrying more than the limit of passengers on the waterways is dangerous, and since 2015, when the relevant authorities have inspected and taken action against offenders, there have been no more passengers on the roof of the ferry boat, Ko Pyone Cho from Mawgyun told the GNLM.
According to a passenger, the fare for a trip from Dagon-Ayeya Highway Bus Terminal was usually only K5,000 to K7,000 for big cars carrying around 35 people, but these days, the fare was charged around K9,000 to K10,000.
Ko Maung Win, the owner of Bogale-Yangon bus line, told the GNLM that if passengers go directly to the bus station, the fare will be cheaper. However, if passengers go through a broker, the bus operator may have to pay a pick-up fee to the broker, resulting in higher passenger fares.
A vehicle owner mentioned that only half of the round trip has passengers, while the other half remains empty, leading to an increase in fares.
In addition to the Ayeyawady Region, passengers from Yangon to Aunglan and Yangon to Sinbaungwe also face high fares, according to the travellers.
Ma Nyein, who returned to Aunglan, and Ma Zin Mar to Sinbaungwe, informed the GNLM that this year’s bus fare increased to K25,000 for Aunglan and K35,000 for Sinbaungwe, up from K15,000 for both towns. — TWA/KZL
