THE state government should operate the public bus system in Kuching and provide a free bus service for the first five years to change the people’s communal habit and to reduce traffic congestion.
Debating the Yang di-Pertua Negeri’s address yesterday, Wong King Wei (DAP-Padungan) said most people were reluctant to use public buses at present due to the ineffective and inefficient public bus system in the city.
Based on his studies, the government only needed to come out with RM145 million as initial costs, thereafter RM48 million annually for operating costs.
The initial five years of free bus service would help study the implementation of a more affordable bus fares system for sustainability of the whole system while changing the communal habit of the Kuching population from taking cars to using public transport.
He added there were four major public bus service companies in Kuching: Syarikat City Public Link (CPL) Bus Service Sdn Bhd, Sarawak Transport Company Bhd, Petra Jaya Transport Company and Bau Transport Company.
They have a total of 107 buses, servicing 60 routes.
Upon studying the value of the four bus companies, he estimated the takeover cost at RM5 million. Beside acquiring these companies, Wong proposed the state to purchase an additional 300 buses with 44-seater capacity, which will cost approximately RM120 million (at RM400,000 per bus) to increase the total of buses servicing Kuching to about 400.
He also suggested an additional start-up cost of RM20 million, including commissioning a study on the re-routing of bus services, providing additional facilities like bus terminals and electronic signboards at bus stops.
As for the operational costs, including salary, benefit, fuel, repair and maintenance, motor insurance and road tax – estimated at RM10,000 per bus per month – Wong estimated all 400 buses would cost the government about RM48 million a year.
In this regard, only RM193 million was needed for the first year implementation of the free bus service.
“Statistic shows that only one per cent of the people in Kuching is using buses to move around the city, while the percentage of people using private cars and motorcycles are 87 per cent and five per cent respectively. This explains why traffic congestion in Kuching is getting from bad to worse.
“The lack of public transport has forced the people to buy cars and this only contributes to heavier traffic congestion and financial burden to vehicle owners.”