E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSSThis once-isolated country is replacing its fleet of buses cobbled together from the shells of World War II-era Chevy trucks. NBC News' Ian Williams reports on this antique roadshow on wheels that is being swept away by rapid change.
YANGON, Myanmar -- U Ming Kyi affectionately tapped the hood of his dilapidated bus. “Of course I’ll be sad to see it go. They are really reliable. The brakes are great,” he said.
But on this particular morning, bus No. 61 from North Dagon to San Pya market was not cooperating. The engine screeched and smoked as U Ming sat behind the wheel, turning the key and willing it to life.
He gave up and glanced back at the passengers. As if on cue -- and clearly well practiced -- several jumped from the bus and began pushing until it spluttered, gasped, then finally roared to life.
Bus no 61 was on its way across the north of Yangon, as it has been for decades.
U Ming smiled gingerly. He has been driving these buses for 35 years, and keeping on the road what are possibly the oldest buses in the world still operating needs constant improvisation.
Ian Williams/NBC News
Driver U Ming Kyi at the wheel of bus number 61. He's been driving the Big Belly Chevy for 35 years.
In Myanmar they are called “big belly” buses and the chassis of no 61 was registered in 1939. Back then it was a military truck -- a Canada-built Chevy C-15. These were used by the United States, Britain and western allies during the "Burma Campaign" -- the southeast Asia theater of World War II.
Related stories
Obama's visit a sign of Myanmar's dizzying pace of change
America's 'Pacific president'? Obama opens first post-election trip with visit to Thailand
After the conflict, Myanmar’s military regime converted them into buses. The makeshift vehicles quickly became the mainstay of a transport system that resembled until recently an antiques show on wheels.
But in a sign of the rapid wider changes sweeping this country, they have been banned from the increasingly traffic-clogged center of Yangon, Myanmar’s main city, and are being phased out to be replaced by shiny new Japanese models.
Ian Williams/NBC News
Passengers packed on board bus number 61. Big Belly Bus.
The price of an old “big belly” has suddenly gone through the roof -- not because of the vehicle, which is off to the junk yard, but because of the valuable operating license that goes with it.
If he had the money, U Ming would buy one himself. “The new ones just won’t be the same,” he said. He can read every crunch, bang and hiss -- of which there are many on a bumpy, shaky ride across the city.
Like most vehicles here, the “big belly” is right-hand drive, a legacy of British rule when traffic drove on the left. Yet the traffic in Myanmar now drives on the right, as in the United States, which means drivers like U Ming spend a good deal of their time straining to see what is coming at them.
Former dictator Ne Win made the switch after seizing power in 1962. Some say it was an anti-colonial gesture. Others put it down to his notorious superstition: Britain’s Daily Telegraph said he took the decision after consulting a wizard.
Ian Williams/NBC News
The interior of a Big Belly Bus.
That these buses operated for so long, patched together with whatever parts were available during years of isolation and sanctions, is testament to the ingenuity of men like U Ming.
All is not lost, though. Long-time Italian resident Alberto Peyre has bought three and given them a luxurious face lift to serve the country's tourism boom.
“They are a piece of history, a piece of history,” he said, as immaculately dressed attendants handed us cold towels as we sat in expensively upholstered seats for a mini-tour of the city.
“I love these buses. I just love them,” he said.
Peyre’s company, Elephant Coach, is marketing tours as “the ultimate luxury in overland travel.” It’s a long way from the U Ming’s no 61, but it will ensure that these remarkable old machines will not entirely disappear from the streets of Myanmar.
More world stories from NBC News:
- Egypt's Morsi says he wants to stabilize country
- More than 100 killed in Bangladesh factory fire
- Drug gang bust in Honduras nets $100M assets
- Irish editor who published pics of naked Kate Middleton resigns
- Scientists rush to save manta rays, the 'pandas of the ocean'
- Despite troubles at home, Egypt's Morsi is pivotal player in Mideast
Follow World News from NBCNews.com on Twitter and Facebook
Leave a Comment:
Talk about durable :)
BUT, we Americans buy Japanese,Korean,German and Swedish vehicles...then we complain about our foreign debt...
We drive our foreign vehicles to WalMart, or Kmart or dollar stores, and fill them up with clothing made in Bangladesh and China, and buy goods made in India and China, and complain about all the money we owe to China and India...
And we purchase electronics made in Japan, and we complain about our growing debt to Japan ( which will surpass our Chines debt next year).
Buy a CHEVY or a FORD and buy American, OR SHUT UP about American debt to China etc.
Don't just blame your fellow countrymen for this when the American companies are outsourcing their production to other countries for pennies on the dollar.
If we made vehicles that compete Technically and Financially we would not be having this conversation.
That however is never the focus, somehow I should pay more and get less just to support the concept that we can still compete.
I would've liked to know more about the owners of these old buses in what will they do now that these "new" buses from Japan have arrived? I highly dought they will be given (for free) one of the new buses to replace the old "big belly bus" they had before there old bus was outlawed and if they do not have the funds to purchase one of them (or more) then who stands to take over with providing the bus service to the locals?
I noticed where the article mentioned the operating license's goes with an old bus and that the prices are going through the roof for these old "big bellys" now but if you own lets say 1 old bus with the operating license then do you get a new bus in exchange for the old one for free then?
The people (bus owners) who have been providing this bus service for all these years will somehow get the shaft I'll bet but if the writer had given us the whole and complete story then I wouldn't be here trying to find out the details.
Who bought these new buses? Were they donated by another country for some reason? (maybe I missed that part?)
I read in the article that U ming said he would buy one himself if he had the money (I assume he doesn't) so now what will U ming do after driving his old bus for 35 years and now he finds himself phased (pushed to the side like an old tire!) out because someone high up in government decided they needed shinny new buses for all the tourists that should be coming soon?
Seems like this government is off to great start (sarcasm) with watching out for its people who have been there all this time doing a great job for the people who needed him and his old bus.
I hope U Ming and all of the other bus owners somehow land on there feet and find new ways to support there family's.
Great advertisement for GM
Man if this don't prove there is nothing like an old Chevy! I say get 3 of them and do a ," OverHaul'n"," Counting Cars" and " Gas Monkey Garage" build-off! And return them to Myanmar for another 75yrs !
Have you seen the cars in Cuba, they look like something out of a black and white movie of the 1920- 50s. Unbelievable and beautiful too. Think they are Fords, Chevys etc. Supppose that is what happens when no none will trade with ya, you make do with what you have and find ways to make them work forever.
Doubtful though that the new model of buses will stand up for all those years as no doubt they are not built to last 35 years and counting, as there would not be any profit to be made if the bus companies are not changing the buses ever few years. Plus there is that little matter that the engine will now be more complicated thus cannot be repaired or converted on the fly, as they no doubt will be computerized and complicated to the max. LOL
They will now have to import mechanics from Japan to fix the new buses, hopefully they will train the Myanmarians to repair their own new bus fleet.
Anyhooo.... Ain't progress great? LOL
The guy that bought 3 of these buses and fixed them up to be transport for tourist certainly have the best of deals, because he will still have buses that can be repaired easily or on the fly with anything at hand. Seems like the brakes will continue to be great.... you know like that bus driver stated about his bus or relic of years past. LOL
Aren't they or didn't they change out the double decker buses in London? Now you can no longer jump on the bus when it slows down along its route, as the new buses are no longer open at the back or have that pole. Those were fun to ride though especially when you go up top. sigh.
Peace.....
makes a Philippine jeepney look like a luxury ride! :)
Yea jeepneys. took many a drunken ride back to Subic in them.
Well, there worth more than Scrap now! First BID,starting at $5,000!
How much did we pay for the newer buses, we bought these back during the early days of wwII,
At least those tax payers got some value for there dollars, I'll bet Obom ass and Hillary gave them a good penny
for the new ones that are made in Japan. way to go keeping the economy in the right direction. ( Yah; for
every one else but Americans).
Kados for the people of " Burma and U Ming" I guess all those who died to free you from Japan and
It's Otrocities in 1940 Would be "proud"
So what if our president gave them money, your ass---- republicans will be shipping our factories and your job to them now since that's what republicans do. Go work for Mcdonalds and Walmarts since they can't ship service jobs like that overseas. You are an ignorant moron just like the rest of the country that votes repuke-ican.
Oops! Too late! Obama has already shipped them jobs and money. Why does he hate the US so much?
So you're saying that Republicans hate the U.S., but Obama hates it more? :/
Instead of scrapping they should list them on e-bay for sale. There are no doubt museums and collectors the world over that would love to add one to their collection. They are a piece of history that once gone cannot be replaced.
SAD to See it GO? CHRIST! How many people fell thru the floorboards! You can KEEP it runnin for 75yrs and ya can't throw down some PLYWOOD! I wouldn't even transport PIGS in them!
In my day, everyone stuck their feet through the floorboards to brake, and they loved it!
He can read every crunch, bang and hiss on the road! I can too, walkin 50 MPH!
He can't afford a NEW ONE, if he can't afford THAT ONE!
New Ones won't be the Same! DAMN RIGHT! thats a SUICIDE SURREY!
Its only a piece of History if ya Got MONEY! Right now, its a Piece of SHlT!
I gotta see a new one! Thats like lookin at a skeleton and callin it a MONROE!
another fine pertinent piece of reporting
It the good ol' days when things were made to last. These buses would probly look great if they were constantly maintained, but they lasted this long even without proper maintenance.
Who proofread this article? There's a glaring typo in paragraph eleven and, after noting right-hand drive, you reverse the photo of the interior of the bus to show left-hand drive. What's the excuse this time?
Wonder how many miles were racked up on these busses over the years? Million mile club?
Geez some butthole is taking stabs at Obama on this news byte. WTF is wrong with military minded people besides they think they are in control of something! Ah gawt news fer ye bub~God is in Control and you ain't. I heard you Kraut Heads in the USMC throwing yer Mr. Bluster rountine around like it means something. SEE how powerful you are when ur dieing S**Thead! Think with your mighty nerves of steel and determination yah can prolong yer life one breath longer! Go BLOW YER RIGHTWING BULL PUCKY OUT'N YER ARSE!
What? Are you drunk?
What a sad P.O.S.
Welcome to the 21st Century Burma.
B U R M A
Sounds like Obama is a good salesman.
No, but he sure gives our money away easily.
Obama would never be a salesman. The would be too much like work.
Little bits of history. Those babies helped turn the tide against the Japanese in the CBI (China Burma India), the "forgotten" theater of WWII. Anyone with even a slight interest in that era's history should look up the Battle of Imphal, the monthlong siege that broke the back of the Japanese army on the Asian mainland. As significant a turning point as Stalingrad or Midway, Imphal had the bad luck to happen in June '44, alongside D-Day and the prepwork for the Phillippines invasion, so it went almost unnoticed at the time and is completely forgotten now.
Though they're being phased out, perhaps the sight of these buses can remind folks that the Burmese were once our allies, and they can be again.
Sir, would you mind (seriously) if I were to step back, snap to, and salute you? My reasons are many, but my tears make it hard to see the screen...
It's probably for the best. Those things look like they can give you lung cancer just by looking at them. And the fact that they have old wooden planks for flooring makes standing in one during the rainy season a rather dicey prospect...
just hope their government hasn't gotten ahold to the donation america's given to suz , the nobel peace prize winner. the politics out there is like dealing with the republican conservative tea party of the '' HATEFUL '' !!!
And u kids' 2 years smart phone is now obsolete? Holly crap.
If Americans are on a bus that won't start it wouldn't occur to them to get out and push to get it going. They'll call their lawyers or scream at the driver or demand another bus right now.