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Public Utilities
6.3 TRANSPORT
Transport was very important for MEs who travelled long distances to reach their business
locations from home and vice-versa everyday. Some of them also used it to visit their suppliers and customers. There were various kinds of transports, which can be categorized as public,
private and personal transport/vehicles. Some of the MEs used public and private transport
while some of them used personal vehicles to commute everyday and some operated their
business from home and did not have to commute frequently. In Yangon, motorbikes were
banned on the main roads by the government to reduce traffic and avoid fatal accidents. In
Nay Pyi Taw, motorbikes were used a public private transport which was not observed in any
other city.
6.3.1 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE TRANSPORT
Train service
Public transport included the government owned bus and train service. Nyein (Ice-cream
seller, Mawlamyine) took the bus to go to the supplier to buy ice-cream. He paid a bus fare of
MMK 100 ($0.1) and it took him 15 minutes to reach there. Crystals (Fan seller, Yangon) took
the first train in the morning at 6 a.m. to reach her business location and took the last train at
3 p.m. to return home everyday.
Private transport included the private owned publicly used vehicles such as the trishaw, the
three wheelers, the motorbike taxis and the ferry service. Phyo (Guava seller, Yangon) used the
goods carrier and paid MMK 1000 ($1) per box to the driver who brought guavas from the
supplier’s place. Maung (Coconut doormat maker, Bago) used the trishaw to deliver his mats
to the Pagoda. Hla (Owl toy maker, Bago) used the trishaw for getting the raw materials and
visiting the Pagoda to sell toys. Than (Fish monger, Bago) started her day at 4 a.m. and took
different modes of transports to reach the fish market. First the motorbike for which she spent
MMK 300 ($0.3), then the bus for which she spent MMK 500-1000 ($0.5-$1) and then the
trishaw for which she spent MMK 200 ($ 0.2).
Three wheelers service
6.3.2 PERSONAL VEHICLES
MEs either owned a motorbike or a bicycle. Those MEs who had their own motorbike, got
their driving license and vehicle registration done from Land Transportation Office (LTO)
(discussed in chapter 3, section 3.11).