Motorcycle Ban to Continue in Rangoon

By The Irrawaddy 18 November 2016

RANGOON – The local government will continue its ban on motorcycles in Rangoon Division for road safety reasons, deputy minister of the Ministry of Transportation and Communication U Kyaw Myo told the Lower House of Parliament on Thursday.

Lawmaker U Nyan Lin—who represents Rangoon’s Shwepyitha Township in the Lower House—asked during the parliamentary session if the government would allow motorcycles in new satellite townships such as Shwepyitha and Hlaingthaya and other areas with less traffic congestion.

The deputy minister, quoting the Rangoon regional government, said the government would not grant motorcycle licenses or allow motorcycle riding in populous suburban townships in Rangoon according to the ban introduced in April 1991.

“Shwepyitha and Hlaingthaya are among the townships in the Rangoon municipality where motorcycle riding is banned,” said deputy minister U Kyaw Myo.

In early October, however, Rangoon regional government’s minister of electricity, industry, roads, and transportation Daw Nilar Kyaw responded to a question concerning official permission for motorcycle licenses and dealers in the outskirts of Rangoon that it was “completing reviews on rules and regulations related to setting territories for motorcycle riding.”

Burma has an estimated four million registered motorcycles in the country, based on official figures, and many more are imported illegally.