MORE than 30,000 people use the government ferry service each
day to cross between Yangon’s Pansodan Port and the town
of Dala on the opposite side of the Yangon River, said Inland
Water Transportation officials.
Two IWT ferries, named Kyansitthar and Tapinshwehti after heroic
figures from Myanmar’s history, operate daily from 5 am
to 10 pm, crisscrossing the river and departing from one port
or the other about every 20 minutes for the 10-minute journey
to the other side. The double-deck ferries average a total of
about 48 trips a day.
Peak hours are 7 am to 9 am, when both ports are crowded with
people coming from Dala to Yangon, and 4 pm to 7 pm, when many
people return from work in Yangon to their homes across the river.
Tickets cost just K10 for locals, which keeps them affordable
for residents in Dala who must cross frequently for work in Yangon.
“The government keeps the ticket prices low to benefit
poor people who live across the river,” one passenger said.
“So they have more money for other needs.”
“I come to Yangon everyday to sell boiled corn,”
said Daw Mya Mya, a vendor who lives in Dala. “I am quite
happy with the fare, as it is very convenient.”
However, some passengers complained about passenger congestion
resulting from the fact that each port was equipped with only
one walkway between the landing and the boat.
The queue to get on and off the ferries sometimes took twice
as long as the ferry ride itself, they said.
“There should be two bridges, one for boarding and one
for disembarking,” said one passenger who boarded in Dala
with a bicycle and who was on his way to his job in Botahtaung
township.
One daily passenger said that during peak times he sometimes
takes small private boats across the river to avoid the crush.
“Private boats cost K50 each and can carry about 10 people,”
he said.
Government ferries also provide daily service between Yangon
and the villages of Kha Naung To (nine trips a day) and Sarparchaung
(eight trips a day, provided for the convenience of staff members
of the Ministry of Health).
The IWT also runs a car ferry between Yangon and Dala that carries
about 300 vehicles a day.
