AFTER a four-month delay, the new water taxi system is going to officially run on October 7, said Ko Tun Naing Lin, a spokesperson of Tint Tint Myanmar Company.

The press conference for the water taxi was held in last May with hopes for the route to start in early June. But due to a delay in the lack of permission from the government, the project has only just being given the green light to begin operations this month.

“We will hold the opening ceremony on October 6 and officially run [the system] on October 7 for first route. All passengers must use a prepaid card and can easily buy them at ports. They need to buy the card but we can't say the exact card price. We defined K300 for the trip,” Ko Tun Naing Lin said.

There are a total of six ports along the route from Insein to Botahtaung townships. On October 7, the water taxis will start routes from Botahtaung Township and near Augn Zaya Bridge, Insein Township. Schedules will be displayed at the ports.

The water transport system will run three routes: the Hlaing River, Nga Moe Yeik creek and the river near Thanlyin Township. The first phase will run a route from Insein to Botahtaung Township. Initially, the government had hoped that the system would rely on just small boats as water taxis.

Daw Tint Tint Lwin, CEO of Tint Tint Myanmar Company, said that they will use a card system with their own platform. But for now, they will use an Anypay card system for riders’ convenience.
Water taxis are popular in many countries, such as the Netherlands.