KUALA LUMPUR: The government will look into the proposal for the Public Service Vehicle (PSV) Licence issuance system to be restructured to meet the demands of the bus services industry.
Minister in the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri said the move was hoped to be able to help overcome the shortage of express bus drivers in the country.
“The costly fee and the difficulties in obtaining the PSV licence are among the factors causing the shortage of express bus drivers in the country.
“At present, there are approximately 4,300 express bus drivers in the country, but the number is seen insufficient when some of them have to work overtime, which has become among the factors for road accidents,” she told reporters after opening the Express Bus Transformation Laboratory here yesterday.
Also present was Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) chairman Tan Sri Dr Syed Hamid Albar.
Nancy said the government was also planning to train more youths and women to become express bus drivers to enable them to be the preferred choice of express bus companies.
“We don’t want to hire foreigners for the job anymore, but instead we want local youths to work as bus drivers as the ones in the current market are between 40 and 50 years old.
“We also want to train women to become express bus drivers, maybe for short-distance trips for a start before allowing them to make long-distance trips,” she said.
She said the salary scheme of bus drivers should also be restructured so that it would not be based on number of trips.
Under the current system, some drivers even refused to work with a co-driver to the extent of forcing themselves to drive for more than 24 hours, which could lead to accidents, just for the sake of earning extra allowance.
The eight-month laboratory began yesterday until April 14. — Bernama