School bus groups assure no increase of fares

School bus fares will not be going up following the removal of diesel subsidies at the pump, a coalition of school bus entrepreneurs assured.

Malaysian School Bus Association Alliance president Rofik Mohd Yusoff said there will be no increase in bus fares until December after his side received the government diesel subsidy of RM1.88 per litre as previously announced.

He also expressed surprise at Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s warning to school bus operators that the latter would face action if they increased their fares.

“We promise that there will be no increase in school bus fares charged to parents because we are still receiving subsidies. So, no real issue.

“However, I do not rule out the possibility that if there are operators who increase fares, they are those who are not registered as members of the federation and may also not be registered with APAD (Land Public Transport Agency),” he told Utusan Malaysia.

School bus fares will remain as agreed upon by the operators and parents, Rofik added.

Two days ago, Anwar warned school bus operators who indiscriminately hike prices following diesel subsidy rationalisation risk having their licences suspended or revoked.

“You have been given the subsidies and if you still hike the prices, watch out!” he asserted.

“I don’t know about others, but for me, if you increase the price when you have received subsidies, we will revoke your licences. If not, the schoolchildren will be burdened (while trying to get to school).

“If it’s true that you have not received (the subsidies), apply for the fleet card and we will pay.”

Stop the threats, address issues

Similarly, Federation of School Bus Associations Malaysia president Amali Munif Rahmat denied there would be any hike in school bus fares.

He told Majoriti that bus operators will not arbitrarily raise fares without good reason.

At the same time, the increase in bus fares does not depend solely on the diesel price, he added

“If we increase (the prices), it’s not because the diesel price goes up but because of the increase in operating costs such as engine oil, tyres, spare parts, and workshop wages.

“But usually, the operator will not raise the fare arbitrarily. If they can cover the cost, they will not raise the fare,” he said.

Amali viewed Anwar’s threat to revoke the licences of bus companies that hike prices as a backward step that only worsens the situation due to the shortage of school buses.

He said the government should instead focus on ensuring that problems arising from the implementation of the diesel subsidy scheme are addressed.

He explained that the issues include the setting of subsidy quotas, the transparency of the payment process at petrol stations and problems in the registration process under the system.

“Finish that first. Don't threaten us. If we stop the operation of 16,000 school buses (across the country), 1.5 million students will not go to school.

“In Sabah and Sarawak, many (entrepreneurs) cannot get subsidies because they are registered with the local authority, not with the Companies Commission.

“There are also school buses owned by cooperatives that are registered with the Malaysian Cooperative Commission and, for example, buses for orphanages that are registered with the Registrar of Societies,” he said.

He estimated that more than 3,000 of the 16,000 school buses operating are still not registered under the Subsidised Diesel Control System.

The removal of diesel subsidies at the pump came into effect on Monday.

This was after the government introduced the Budi Madani Subsidy Aid Programme for private diesel vehicle owners and fleet cards for the public transport and logistics transport sectors.

The price of diesel would be floated according to the market rate and updated weekly like RON97. This entailed a price increase from RM2.15 per litre to RM3.35 per litre.

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