The number of buses plying the Pan Borneo Sarawak highway was increased last night following the additional load of passengers in the countdown to Gawai Dayak on Monday.

Sarawak Bus Transport Companies Association chairperson Lau Kheng Seng said the number of buses was 30 percent more, compared to ordinary days.

He also attributed the extra load to members of the public taking advantage of the school holidays which begin at the end of this week.

“Express bus fares in Sarawak remained the same since 2009 even though the companies had to bear the Goods and Services Tax (GST) for spare parts and tyres,” he told Bernama in Sibu today.

He said the most common destination was Sibu, be it from Kuching or Miri, as it is the stopover for passengers before they continue upstream of the Rajang River to the longhouses in Sibu, Song, Kapit and surrounding areas.

Lau, who is also Pan Malaysian Bus Operators Association vice-president, said the association was still waiting for approval of the new fare it had proposed to the Commercial Vehicles Licensing Board some years back.  

Meanwhile, the Pan Borneo Sarawak highway between Tanjung Datu in Lundu district and Merapok at the Sarawak/Sabah border is a federal government project involving 1,076km.

The project costing more than RM13 billion is expected to be fully completed in 2023.

- Bernama