KOTA KINABALU: A new bus shuttle service linking the two Queen Elizabeth Hospital buildings in Penampang Road and Damai Road is expected to be introduced soon.
Commercial Vehicle Licensing Board (CVLB) chairman Datuk Teo Chee Kang announced yesterday that the agency was in the process of finalising a proposal to have the shuttle bus service to commence operation on the new route next month.
“We understand the need for the bus service connecting the two hospitals; that is why we want to implement this as soon as possible. We expect to finalise everything in the next meeting at the end of this month and hopefully would be able to start the bus service after that.
“We believe the new route would be convenient for the public seeking treatment at Queen Elizabeth One (QEHI) at Jalan Penampang and Queen Elizabeth Two (QEHII) in Damai, as there is no bus service connecting the two hospitals at the moment” he told a press conference at the agency’s headquarters here.
Teo said the new route would serve the whole of Sector Three which covers all the areas between Wawasan Terminal, QEHI and QEHII.
He said six buses would serve the new route, with three buses for each opposite direction. The whole route is about 15 km long and the agency has proposed a flat rate of RM1 for the ticket.
“We have not worked out the details such as the time and frequency of the service yet but we hope to sort them all out soon.
“We also want to make sure if it is commercially viable as we do not want the company providing the service to cease operation only after a few months. But our priority would be the interest and need of the public at large,” he added.
He however did not reveal if the agency has identified any operator or if the contract to provide the service has been opened for tender.
Previously, a temporary shuttle bus service was provided by the Health Department to enable patients and visitors to commute between the two hospitals but it has ceased operation since beginning of the year.
Apart from the absence of public transport from QEHI to QEHII, the public has also been complaining about insufficient parking space at the two locations.
Meanwhile, on a separate development, Teo informed that the validity period for the Approval Offer Letter for all license classes had been extended from one to two years.
“This is in consideration of the difficulties faced by the applicants in procuring the vehicle from the suppliers, especially big vehicles like lorries and trailers which could take a very long time.
“With this new change, all previous one year Approval Offer Letters which have expired, will be given an extension of one more year from the date of expiry,” he said.
He added the agency had also decided to increase the age limit for all types of public transportation vehicles except for shuttle bus and rented car.