MoU on SBST for Kuching soon

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KOTA SAMARAHAN: Kuchingites will enjoy better public transportation service upon the implementation of the government’s Stage Bus Services Transformation (SBST) scheme next year.

According to Minister in Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri, the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the federal government, the state government and Konsortium BBK Sdn Bhd as the network operator, is scheduled for this week.

Speaking to reporters during an event held at Sadong Jaya multipurpose hall here yesterday, she also pointed out that it would serve as a pilot project for the state.

“Kuching is among the six cities in Malaysia selected for this project, which will be implemented in stages.

“It will be assessed and (we will) see its effectiveness before expanding it to other major areas across the state. All buses will have electronic ticketing systems with Touch-n-Go cards, WiFi, GPS (Global Positioning System) and CCTV (closed-circuit television) tracking for safety,” she added.

Under the SBST project for Kuching, a total of 130 buses would cover 560km along 15 main routes and 12 intermediate routes.

Nancy also explained that the 15 main routes would be divided into four areas – Kuching-Matang Polytechnic route, Kuching-Damai route, Kuching-Bako route and Kuching-Kota Samarahan route.

According to her, the proposed bus service is aimed at improving the quality of public transportation to service the community and at the same time to impact those living in the rural areas.

“The state Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport Development (MIDT) will be appointed as the implementing agency for the SBST programme in Sarawak,” she disclosed.

It is learnt that under the SBST project, other known cities slated to benefit from it would include Kangar (Perlis), Ipoh (Perak) and Seremban (Negri Sembilan).