End of an era as Mile 4 bus terminal closes

4

MOVING TO NEW FACILITY: The front view of Kuching Sentral where the last seven bus operators have moved to.

KUCHING: The last express coach to depart the old Bus Terminal at Mile 4 at 10.30 pm here yesterday marked the end to an era, but an air of uncertainty and dissatisfaction continues to linger among bus companies that will be operating out of Kuching Sentral from today.

The remaining seven bus operators officially ceased their operations at the 20-year-old terminal following an agreement by all 15 operators to move to the new state-of-the-art facility.

Despite protracted bargaining, some issues remain a concern among the operators.

It is understood that some quarters are still unhappy with the seven percent charges imposed on bus operators for terminal operation and management despite Sarawak Bus Transport Companies Association (SBTCA) chairman Lau Khing Seng saying that the issue had been ironed out with Kuching Sentral Sdn Bhd during a press conference on April 13.

Initially, the charges imposed were 10 per cent before a compromise was reached.

“The association will lobby with the state and federal government to subsidise the seven per cent charges which the (Kuching Sentral) management said was for maintenance fee and services. Seven per cent is still considered high.

“Instead of charging seven per cent, maybe the management impose fix charges on operators based on ticket sales, say RM1 per ticket. In short, we hope that the charges could be reduced further,” suggested SBTCA vice-chairman Nelson Chiew during a press conference at his office here yesterday.

Also present were Chong Sze Sin of MTC Express, who is SBTCA-appointed Kuching Sentral and Serian Station Master, and Bintang Jaya Express director of marketing Sazali Morshidi.

On another issue, Chiew stressed that the bus entry and exit points along Jalan Airport needed to be resolved. Due to fast and heavy traffic, he said many bus drivers had complained of difficulty in entering and exiting from the terminal.

The drivers’ main concern was the safety of motorists and passengers alike.

“When you’re driving a 20-foot bus to exit onto a road with fast or heavy traffic, it is very difficult and unsafe. Often, these drivers had to wait for several minutes until the road is clear of oncoming vehicles.

“This long waiting time can be frustrating during peak hours in the morning or during weekends, especially during school holidays. In the morning peak hours, we have at least 10 departures at the same time, and this created long queues inside the terminal.”

Chiew said the association hoped that the terminal management could liaise with the local council to create a road bund or traffic-lights. Another alternative is for the management to create special and safer lanes for exit and entry.

Another problem concerned insufficient parking bays. These bays were often occupied by shoppers.

Although a long term solution would be to build more parking bays, he suggested the setting up of special transit points for commuters to buy their tickets instead of having to look for parking spaces. The parking inadequacies often caused traffic jams, he claimed.

“We hope that the management could settle these problems immediately. Traffic jams involving buses in the terminal bay are something which we can handle, but if people missed the bus due to a delay in finding parking spaces, there is nothing we can do.

“We are already facing these jams even before the remaining bus operators coming in.”

Sazali opined that a transportation central hub should be big and have ample parking space. He suggested alternative routes should be built to easily access the terminal to avoid congestion.

“Kuching Sentral should be more customer-friendly and more socially conscious to the needs of the people instead of being too business-oriented.”

The 4th Mile Bus Terminal began operation in 1992. The first two companies which operated there 20 years ago were Borneo Highway and PB Express. As of yesterday, all inbound coaches to the city went to Kuching Sentral.