YANGON, Jan. 18 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar's Yangon region government has called on city dwellers to cooperate and promptly adapt to the new bus system that was introduced this week.
Monday, the first day of the new system, saw fewer buses operating than expected, resulting in imbalance between the number of buses and passengers.
The system, which reduces the number of bus lines from more than 300 to 70 according to the arrangement of the Yangon regional government, has eased the traffic jam but caused chaos among congested passengers.
Yangon Region Chief Minister U Phyo Min Thein said the regional government is conducting survey on the difficulties for the public during the transportation system change to solve them as soon as possible.
U Phyo Min Thein vowed that such phenomenon cannot be allowed to continue before promising new buses in February after two days' experience.
The chief minister took a bus trip in downtown Yangon on Tuesday, the second day of the introduction of the new system, with the public, experiencing the effect of the bus system change first hand.
It was found that the public encountered difficulties on the first day as there were insufficient number of buses and that passengers did not know the new bus routes.
Meanwhile, volunteers, who helped guide passengers, improved the situation on the second day as there were more buses running on the day.
Other private vehicles and those owned by businesses and philanthropic associations were also providing transportation for the public free of charge during rush hour on Tuesday.
Passengers voiced their sentiments that they felt relieved on Tuesday because they got to know their bus lines and there were more buses which alleviated much of the crowding that occurred on the first day.
Meanwhile, Yangon region police also lent a helping hand by providing free transportation services for passengers.
The chief minister added that the regional government had just started the change of the system and would upgrade the buses in February and March and further improve the system over the next three months, promising a change that all dwellers could appreciate.
The new system is aimed at reducing traffic jam facing presently in the city and making the bus lines systematically formed.
The new bus lines are supervised by Yangon Region Transport Supervision Board, thus replacing the previous All Bus Line Control Committee.
At present, over 2 million people are depending on bus lines in Yangon where 6 million people are residing.
