By Yoon Sat - Aug 08, 2024
It is said that transportation workers especially the motorbike taxi drivers are facing difficulties as they have to buy gas at market price while the market price is consistently raising to 4,000 kyats per liter of 92 octane.
“The gas price in the market is raising. The pumps only sells to car but not to motorbike. This is also good somehow. People don’t need to queue. We usually buy at other place as we don’t want to queue around 3 hours. It was 3,500 kyats per liter of 92 octane in previous days but it is 4,000 kyats now,” said a motorbike taxi driver from East Dagon Township.
Domestic gasoline prices according to the reference prices of the gas stations from July 29th to August 1st were 2630 kyats per liter of 92 octane, 2750 kyats per liter of 95 octane, 2,365 Kyats per liter of regular diesel and 2770 kyat per liter of premium diesel.
The reference price were raised to 2,770 kyats per liter of 92 octane, 2,895 kyats per liter of 95 octane, 2,450 Kyats per liter of regular diesel and 2770 kyat per liter of premium diesel by August 2 and the market price is 3,500 to 4,000 kyats per liter of 92 octane. In Mandalay it costs 6,500 kyats per hour.
The gasoline shortage starts since July 31 and customers queued for a long time to buy it. Some gas stations temporarily close down on August 1.
The gas stations re-opened on August 3, 2024 but some stations sells only 95 octane and some sells only 92 only.
It is known that the gas stations are only selling gas to the cars and not to the motorbikes.
“They don’t sell us, the motorbike taxi drivers. Even cars can’t buy at night. It costs 3,000 kyats per bottle in outside before but it is around 3,500 – 4,000 kyats right now. We need 4 bottle of gas per day and it costs around 16,000 kyats and we can only save some profits. I don’t even want to work as a transportation worker but can’t help as I don’t have any income,” said a motorbike taxi driver.
Motorbike transportation workers need 4 bottle of gas per day and it costs around 16,000 kyats; making their capital up to 20,000 kyats including the rent fees. The motorbike taxi drivers are struggling to earn 10,000 kyats per day although they work all day for their families’ expenses during the gasoline shortage.
