Thursday May 29, 2008 MYT 1:00:47 PM
Express bus industry to be liberalised
By ROYCE CHEAH
KUALA LUMPUR: The express bus industry will be liberalised with the Government opting for reducing operation costs by reviewing toll rates, road tax and insurance charges while also allowing a number of buses to operate without following fixed fares.
Entrepreneurial and Cooperatives Development Minister Datuk Noh Omar said it had to be admitted that bus operators were running at a loss because of high operating costs and that Malaysians in general paid cheap fares.
"The Cabinet committee on Public Transportation which met on Wednesday has decided to go ahead by asking the relevant ministries for lower toll rates, road tax, insurance and terminal rent.
"We will also look at having some buses running at fixed fares (normal buses) and some buses running at fares that will be determined by the market (premium buses). This will allow the public to have choices," Noh told reporters Thursday at the Parliament lobby.
Noh said social routes, that were usually loss-making, would also be taken up by government-sponsored bus operators such as Mara and RapidKL.
He added that determining the fare increase for bus operators was also in its final stages with the quantum being the last item to be determined.
Bus operators want 100% fare hikesKUALA LUMPUR (May 28, 2008): The Pan Malaysian Bus Operators Association called today for a 100% increase in all bus fares across Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak, citing increases in diesel prices and decreasing ridership as the reasons for the proposed hikes.
"Diesel cost has gone up by 100% but since the last approved fare increase on May 1, 2005, there has been no increase in fares," said its president, Datuk Mohamad Ashfar Ali.
He said the proposed fare increase was unfortunate but necessary for the bus companies to provide adequate services to the public.
"Our members have served the public by providing transport services all over the country, regardless of whether the routes are profitable or not, so long as they bring convenience to the people," he said.
"However, of late, we have been unable to improve our services as we are collecting insufficient fares to support our operational costs.
"The passengers have a choice, either they allow for the fare increase or we are forced to shut down."
Mohamad Asfar reiterated that the proposed fare hike was not an attempt by the bus companies to cheat the public.
"We do not wish to cheat the passengers because they are our lifeline. Profits are a motivator to provide better service and we also need profits to motivate investors to invest in our companies," he said.
"The public bus industry is controlled fully by the government. Fares, the amount of trips, passenger limits and trip schedules are controlled fully by the government," Mohamad Ashfar told a press conference.
He said a memorandum on the proposed fare increase had been sent to Entrepreneurship and Cooperative Development Minister Datuk Noh Omar on April 14.
"Even though the government has subsidised our diesel by 15 sen a litre, we feel that this subsidy is too small for us. We also feel that the subsidised quota of 18,000 litres for city buses and 36,000 litres for express buses is insufficient," he said.
"We would like the same subsidy the government gives to fishermen - RM1 a litre of diesel."
Mohamad Ashfar said the government had ignored its earlier memorandums.
However, he said, the association is not seeking a full subsidy akin to what the government gives RapidKL which gets full subsidy.
"We are not looking to be fully subsidised. We do not wish to burden the government and ultimately the taxpayers," he said.
Mohamad Ashfar also also criticised the quality of the diesel subsidised by the government. "The diesel that is supplied is dirty. The government promised last June that the sulphur content in diesel would be reduced but until now, no action has been taken," he said.
"This creates problems for bus operators as the Deparment of Environment (DOE) has been issuing summonses to buses for emitting black smoke caused by this fuel."
He also urged the Entrepreneur and Cooperative Development Ministry to curtail the "excessive amount of permits" issued by the Commercial Vehicles Licencing Board (CVLB).
"There have been too many permits issued by the CVLB without a proper study, resulting in too many buses plying on the same routes, creating an unhealthy level of competition among the bus operators," he said.
Mohamad Ashfar urged the relevant ministries to "think out of the box" when helping the bus industry. "The ministry (of Entrepreneur and Cooperative Development) should learn from our wealth of experience," he said, while urging for a centralised body to be set up to regulate the bus industry.
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