Mehm oa, Tuka : Truck drivers who were previously able to make a living carrying passengers, now face a threat to their livelihood as they must pay increased fees at checkpoints in Ye township, according to area passengers and drivers.
Passenger trucks traveling from Panan Pone village to Ye town must pay a tax of 14,000 kyat to travel one way. 1,000 kyat is paid to as a total to cross the bridge outside of Ye town, 5,000 kyat is taken by Burmese army soldiers at a check point outside Ye town, and another 5,000 kyat to the New Mon State Party (NMSP) Liaison Office, in charge of a second checkpoint to enter inside Ye town. Once in the city drivers must pass three more checkpoints.
“To get permission to enter Ye town, they [truck drivers] have to pay the soldiers who are at the check point, and the NMSP liaison office in Ye town 5,000 kyat each,” said, a passenger from Panan Pone village. “Moreover, the transport owners must then pay 1,000 kyat for each check point once inside Ye town. There are three of these check points [in the city].”
The tax increase came at the open of the road travel season, which is determined by the start and end of rainy season. Because roads become impassible during rainy season travel is severely restricted, making travel by truck from Panan Pone to Ye town impossible for villagers. Truck drivers can generally only make their income carrying passengers between late November to the end of April.
According to a passenger who has traveled the rout often, 2 trucks travel from Panan Pone village to Ye town everyday. Traveling from Panan Pone village to Ye town one-way, each passenger has to pay vehicle owners 5,000 kyat for travel costs.
“For the travel cost, we take 5,000 kyat for each passenger. But when we take this money, we only get a little bit of profit because we have to pay for these check points,” complained a driver of a passenger truck between Panan Pone and Ye town.
The previous season’s operating costs for passenger truck drivers was significantly lower. Last season truck drivers had to pay 4,000 kyat at the Burmese army checkpoint entering Ye Town, but no payment to the NMSP liaison office, or to the then singular checkpoint set up in Ye town.
These cost increases have in turn forced drivers to raise the travel cost for passengers. According to one area resident, last year passengers only had to pay 3,000 kyat for travel costs as opposed to this seasons cost of 5000 kyat.
There are a total of 5 trucks that run on a rotating basis From Panan Pone village to Ye town, with only 2 trucks making the 4 hr trip to and from Ye town each day.
Prior to the motor road, 4 years ago the only method for local people to travel was by a footpath that took 2 to 3 days to walk between Pana Pone and Ye town. During rainy season the only travel available residents is by boat.
