PUTRAJAYA: School bus operators nationwide should discuss with the Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) before resorting to raising school bus fares, said Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
He said school bus operators should not act in haste by raising bus fares without the approval of SPAD as it would cause inconvenience to parents and students.
“Even though they have strong grounds to raise bus fares based on several factors such as higher cost of fuel and bus maintenance, they should refer to SPAD first,” he told a media conference after chairing the National Disaster Management Committee meeting at the Implementation Coordination Unit, here yesterday.
He was commenting on the action of school bus operators in several states who raised their fares even though the new rates would only be decided by SPAD in March.
On Dec 31, SPAD in a statement said it had not approved any surcharge and new school bus fares.
SPAD said in its consultation with representatives of Malaysian School Bus Associations (PPBSM) and the Federation of Malaysian School Bus Operators Association (GPBSM), it was agreed that there would be no surcharge or bus fare hike until SPAD announced a new school bus fare scheme in March 2014.
However, according to newspaper reports, bus operators in Penang, Kelantan, Terengganu and Sarawak have increased their fares without waiting for the new rates set by SPAD.
The bus operators decided to raise fares from RM5 to RM10 on the first day of school in the four states recently. — Bernama