KUCHING: Stage Bus Service Transformation (SBST) Kuching can be implemented at the end of this year if an agreement between bus operators and the Prime Minister’s Department is signed soonest.
Honorary secretary of Sarawak Bus Transport Companies Association, William Chan, said the SBST project was announced by Deputy Chief Minister and Minister of Infrastructure Development and Transportation Tan Sri Datuk Amar Dr James Masing last year.
“The SBST Kuching project will traverse 27,000km comprising 15 trunk routes and 12 feeder routes daily with 130 new buses.
“The frequency, as mandated by both the state and federal agencies, will range from one to four buses per hour depending on the routes served,” said Chan when contacted recently.
He said the five existing stage bus operators in Kuching had formed a consortium called Konsortium BBK Sdn Bhd (KBBK), which had been appointed as the network operator for the mentioned project.
He said all the groundwork for the SBST project had been done with the network operator identified, bus routes verified, bus schedule and frequency determined, and contract agreements negotiated.
“In other words, SBST Kuching is ready to take off if the agreement between the Prime Minister’s Department and the network operator can be signed right now for operation to begin at end of 2017.”
He said KBBK would be ready to invest in excess of RM100 million in the first 10 months after SBST had purchased the buses.
He added that every newly-purchased bus would be equipped with state-of-the-art features such as on-board Wi-Fi, GPS with free mobile tracking apps available to the public, electronic ticketing machines, CCTV and logistic support facilities required by the SBST project.
Chan said the state government would extend the SBST project to Sibu, Bintulu and Miri in stages once the project in Kuching had been successfully launched.
“We believe that solving the traffic problems of Kuching requires a holistic approach. That is why, when our transport simulation model predicted the deteriorating traffic patterns for 2015 onwards back in 2008, we immediately brought the results to the attention of the state and federal governments.
“We have been working closely together to come up with viable solutions ever since. And SBST Kuching is one example.”
The other example, said Chan, was the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project.
He said BRT would help to ease the traffic problems by providing the SBST buses with dedicated bus lanes in the city.
“BRT can easily double the frequency using the same number of buses and being ‘jam-free’ would provide the pull-factor to entice people to switch their mode of transport from private car to public transport.
“Currently, the BRT project is in the detailed design stage and the cost is projected to be RM380 million for the first corridor with nine stations.”
Chan said the association stood by its Kuching members for they had both the technical expertise and experience to implement the SBST and BRT projects.
“We are optimistic that the people of Kuching will enjoy the fruits of our new SBST bus system before 2017 comes to an end.”