School bus operators throughout the country are urged to discuss with the Public Land Transport Commission (Spad) before deciding to raise fares this year.

President of the Majlis Permuafakatan Persatuan Ibu bapa dan Guru Nasional (PIBGN) or National Council of Parent-Teacher Associations, Associate Prof Mohamad Ali Hasan said the bus operators should follow the regulations set by Spad and not to arbitrarily increase fares without Spad’s approval.

“If they insist otherwise, parents should immediately report the matter to Spad or to any other relevant authority for action to be taken against them,” he said when contacted by Bernama in Kuala Lumpur today.

He was asked to comment on recent news reports on claims by parents that  some school bus operators, especially in the Klang Valley, had quietly raised fares by RM5 to RM10, thus they were forced to pay RM40 to RM55 per child although there had been no official announcement on a fare increase by the government or Spad.

Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations (Fomca) secretary-general  Muhammad Shaani Abdullah said as no official announcement on fare increase had been made, parents were advised to keep receipts as proof for action to be taken against the errant school bus operators.

Secretary-general of the 14,000-member strong Federation of School Bus Operators Associations, Md Saad Mohamad said to date, it had not received any request from its members for a fare increase.

He urged them not to go against the regulations set by Spad and for parents to report the matter (higher fares charged) to Spad.

- Bernama