The Malaysian Consumers Association (Maconas) has refuted the Land Public Transport Commission's (Spad) claim that an increase in express bus fares will lead to fewer bus crashes, saying this makes no sense.

"Increasing bus fares in this current economic climate is not the right thing to do when people are trying to struggle with daily needs and the cost of living, which is high.

"Paying a higher salary will also not guarantee that there will be fewer accidents," Maconas president Amarjit Singh Gill said in a statement today.

Amarjit argued that higher wages would not prevent bus drivers from driving more trips. 

"The problem is with the drivers' attitude and the company's care for the drivers," he said.

He stressed that employers and bus service operators should be responsible to check on the movement of their drivers and the trips that were taken.

"There should be a fixed time limit for bus drivers to drive in a day, which should be around eight hours a day. And that too, with a two-hour break in between," the Maconas president said.

In the event of a crash, the authorities should check on the log book of the said driver and check if there had been negligence on the part of the company that allowed the driver to take more trips than what was practical and allowed.

"If there is negligence on the part of the company then they should be charged under the Penal Code.

"Spad should draw up such guidelines to make bus travel experience safer instead of making such statements of increasing fares," Amarjit added

Last Saturday, Amarjit also questioned the delay in implementing the Speed Limiter on express buses following the deadly bus crash that took place in Muar recently, which left 14 people dead and several others injured.

He was responding to a claim made by Spad chief Syed Hamid Albar, who said that allowing bus companies to charge more would allow them to pay drivers better and that this in turn would lead to safer bus rides and fewer accidents.