KUALA LUMPUR: Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) will study the demand by bus operators to increase bus fares by 30 per cent.
Chairman Tan Sri Syed Hamid Syed Jaafar Albar said the commission will give an answer before Hari Raya celebration.
“We will study. How much? That we will consider,” he told reporters after launching ‘The Malaysian International Bus, Truck and Components Expo 2013’ in Seri Kembangan yesterday.
He was asked to comment on the agreement by Pan Malaysian Bus Operators Association (PMBOA) that the government increase bus fares to avoid the operators from making losses and having to close down their operations.
However, Syed Hamid said the bus operators must be in tandem with SPAD in achieving the objective of providing the best services to the public.
“We should not look at ourselves as the opposing side but we should get out of this opposing side…they give their view and we give our view so as to give the best to the public,” he said.
Syed Hamid also said that the government understood their request to increase bus fares but they should not do something without considering the long-term impact.
He said the government has so far allowed the operators of bus companies to impose a surcharge of 10 per cent during festive seasons to assist them.
“The buses are full when the passengers are going back. But after the festive season, the buses are empty. They have to bear the cost of bringing back empty buses. At present, we allow them to impose the surcharge of 10 per cent,” he explained. — Bernama