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A diploma can enhance professionalism of express bus operators

Following the express bus crash in Pagoh on Dec 24 last year, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Nancy Shukri announced that the Land Public Transport Commission (Spad) will set up a ‘bus laboratory’ to study ways of improving the quality of service, safety and sustainability of the bus industry.

Recently, it was reported that the lab will be held over six weeks from Feb 20 to March 30 at the Sime Darby Convention Centre. It has now been extended by another two weeks to April 14, concentrating on express buses.

It showed Spad is determined to find solutions for the many issues and challenges facing express bus operations. The exercise is bound to have spill-over effects on buses and vans chartered for outstation trips, such as those licensed under Bas Persiaran and Bas Sekolah.

After opening the lab, Nancy Shukri told reporters the issuance and renewal of public service vehicle licences would be restructured to overcome the shortage of well trained and medically fit drivers needed to operate buses safely.

She also disclosed the government does not want to be hasty in banning Dego Ride, a motorcycle ride-hailing service, which benefits many in the bottom 40 percent income group on both supply and demand.

Although the transport minister had indicated on Feb 15 that the cabinet agreed with his ministry’s decision to ban Dego Ride, commercial vehicle licensing matters in peninsula Malaysia are under the purview of Spad.

Nancy Shukri is the minister in charge of Spad, but not many are aware that innovation is also under her watch. She rightly opined that creativity should not be curtailed, recognising Dego Ride represents a new business model in Malaysia.

She said an in-depth study should be done before any decision could be made. In the same vein, those participating in the bus lab should not bring and impose their old baggage, as dishing out more of the same will only bring minimal change.

It is expected that many stakeholders will have diverse views but the main players are the bus companies that procure and maintain the buses, and the management of drivers and their unhealthy lifestyles, apart from regulators and auxiliary services.

Regardless, it has to start with professionalism, which had been grossly lacking since the 1970s when the Road Transport Licensing Board was created with the aim of awarding commercial vehicle permits for chosen applicants to become entrepreneurs.

As a result, many express bus companies were small, poorly managed and buses badly maintained, with many drivers lacking discipline, gorging on free food and drinks at selected rest stops, plus lack of exercise and smoking took a toll on their health.

The way forward

The way forward is for captains of the bus industry to team up with a training arm of a local public university to develop professional diploma programmes for bus operators.

Professional diploma programmes are very different from those offered by universities, which are largely academic and have little industry relevance.

A pool of local industry experts could contribute to develop the programme and a university’s training arm can put them together and conduct it on a part-time basis spread over 12 months.

Instead of university lecturers, facilitators would be industry practitioners so that participants and invited guests brainstorm and discuss on real issues and challenges, not hypotheses.

Some subsidies from Spad will make the course fees more affordable and registration open to all industry personnel, regardless of their academic qualifications, will ensure the programme remains popular.

During classes, participants will be actively engaged in focussed discussions, as what most of the stakeholders are doing in the current bus lab.

If a new programme commences every year, the latest ideas and methods can be deliberated and collated. It will then be similar to a lab, but spread over a longer period on a continuous basis.

Needless to say, officers from Spad and the Road Transport Department must participate in every batch of the programme, so that participants adopt a holistic approach in tackling issues.

The professional diploma not only closes the gap between education and industry, but also between regulators and industry, bringing new meaning to public-private partnership.

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