The Asian Highway, a major trade route for Thailand-Myanmar border trade, has remained closed since fighting broke out in Kawkareik in Karen State in southeastern Myanmar in December 2023 and clashes continue along the road between Kawkareik and the trade hub of Myawaddy on the Thai border.
This has forced passenger buses and cargo trucks to use alternate but much narrower routes that can turn extremely muddy in the rainy season and are prone to frequent landslides. To make matters worse, the routes are dotted with checkpoints manned by regime troops and ethnic armed organizations that levy “tolls” or “taxes” on road users.
There are 48 regular checkpoints — and sometimes more — along the routes that weave through the mountains in rebel-held territories and in Hpa-an and beyond in areas controlled by the Myanmar military regime. The tolls vary depending on the size of the vehicle, from a few thousand kyat to five-digit sums at each checkpoint, according to drivers.
Checkpoints on the mountain routes are operated by the junta-aligned Karen State Border Guard Force, the Karen National Liberation Army-Peace Council, the People’s Defence Force, the Karen National Liberation Army, and the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army.
Down from the mountains, more checkpoints line the route starting from Tharyargone Village in Hpa-an Township, where the Myanmar military, police, junta-aligned militias, traffic police, and other departments collect tolls from vehicles.
This has inevitably increased transportation costs. “They don’t make inspections at the checkpoints, they just ask for money,” explained one driver. “Around the Hpa-An bridge, there are up to four checkpoints manned by traffic police, each asking for at least 5,000 to 10,000 kyat or whatever amount they feel like.”
Last year, rebel groups removed their checkpoints on one of the routes through Htoe Kaw Koe following complaints, but the checkpoints have since been reestablished, said the driver.
In the past, checkpoints were primarily located near major entry/exit points including Aung Mingalar Bus Terminal, the 0 Mile checkpoint on the Yangon-Mandalay Highway, and at Bago, Kyaikto, Bilin, Thaton, and Hpa-An. But now additional checkpoints have been set up between those points, especially ones manned by junta-aligned militias, according to drivers.
There are reportedly more checkpoints on the road section between Yangon and Hpa-an and between Hpa-an and Myawaddy, meaning anti-regime groups run fewer checkpoints than the regime.
The total toll for the route from Yangon to Myawaddy and vice versa has increased from 30,000 kyat to as much as 800,000 kyat for a Hi-Ace passenger bus. As a result, the bus fare has increased more than four-fold to 130,000 kyat per person. For smaller vehicles carrying four passengers, the front seat costs 300,000 kyat while it costs 250,000 kyat to sit in the back, according to a driver.
“We have to give 1,000 kyat to 20,000 kyat at each checkpoint. There are more than 30 checkpoints. The number varies each trip. Sometimes, there are more checkpoints. There are also junta inspection teams that carry out surprise checks. There are only four or five checkpoints run by the PDFs, but there are many more run by the military,” he said.
There is a string of checkpoints run by junta soldiers and police between the 0 Mile checkpoint on the Yangon-Mandalay Highway and Aung Mingalar Bus Terminal, and the toll for that short distance alone costs around 200,000 kyat, he said.
While bus fares have increased for all passengers, those holding citizenship IDs stating that they are from Sagaing, Mandalay or Rakhine have to pay an “extra” fee to take the buses.
“When I bought a bus ticket, the bus operator asked me where my ID was registered. He told me that. people from the areas where there is fighting have to pay additional costs. It is handed over at junta checkpoints. I was afraid whenever I went through a checkpoint,” said a woman who recently travelled from Myawaddy to Yangon.
The toll for a six-wheeled cargo truck between Myawaddy and Hpa-an is 1.5 million to 2 million kyat and for a 12-wheeled truck it rises to 3 million to 3.5 million kyat, said a trader from Myawaddy.
The regime imposes tight checks on cargo trucks in Kyaikto on the Yangon-Mawlamyine Road as it is trying to crack down on smuggling that it believes is financing anti-regime groups. But junta officials also impose tolls on private vehicles and passenger buses on the route as well.
Landslides on mountain roads and inspections along the routes cause delays. In March, the South Eastern Command confiscated imported goods including food and electronic products from trucks heading to Yangon in Hpa-an Township, and also raided the warehouses of traders, triggering price hikes.
“Previously, it took two days maximum to get from the border to Yangon. But now it takes one to two weeks. And those additional expenses add up to our selling prices,” said another trader from Myawaddy.
This has led to shortages and price hikes in Yangon and other towns. Prices of toiletries have increased fourfold, according to Yangon residents.
The border trade hub of Myawaddy is currently controlled by the regime and junta-aligned BGF. Due to road conditions, and the junta’s lengthy import procedures and tight inspections, the trade volume has declined from several hundred trucks to around 60 per day now.
