Below is a letter from one of our regular readers"-
From 1980 to 2010, the population of our country grew from 13.7 million to 28.3 million, and the annual number of visitors to Malaysia rose from 2.25 million to 24.58 million.
This year, we expect 26 million foreign tourists and if their average length of stay is 7 days, we will be playing host to half a million visitors on any given day.
Not forgetting that we have been the largest importer of labour in Asia since 1995, we also have 4 million workers in our midst.
Over the past decades, many new players entered the market to supply the ever increasing demand of services needed by local residents and travellers.
An odd case is our stage bus industry. Instead of a boom, it was a doom for many and those that survived are going through a gloom.
Many decades-old bus companies have ceased operations and more are likely to follow suit unless intervention by the authorities is forthcoming.
From the 1980s onwards, the government’s effort was geared towards developing an automobile industry and protecting national cars with public transportation taking a back seat.
Mercifully, the Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) was set up in 2010 to develop both road and rail services for transportation of passengers and goods.
While there was proper handover from agencies handling rail and tourism transport, the same cannot be said of the defunct Commercial Vehicles Licensing Board (CVLB).
SPAD had the unenviable task of working almost from ground zero on lorry, bus and taxi operators but had the ingenuity of asking them to submit all their licensing records.
With one master stroke, SPAD was up and running and had been in operation since early 2011. CVLB was set up in the 1970s initially using the name Road Transport Licensing Board.
Many people had fond memory of stage buses. Decades ago, there were few cars on the road and traffic congestion was a rarity.
The timetable and fares were displayed in the buses and their service reliable. The public used to treat buses, operators, drivers and conductors with respect, like school teachers used to enjoy.
However, the industry was plagued by leakages, wastages and pilferages from the onset.
Today, nothing much has changed.
One example was around 1960 when a huge scandal rocked the Klang Coast Omnibus Company, better known as KCOC, as the management was dipping into the till.
Today, the bus fares are pilfered by either the conductor or driver in one-man operation buses, and are shared with others on the ground.
Such private incentive schemes are the cause of flare-ups between staff of bus companies fighting for cash-paying passengers.
In 2003, Syarikat Prasarana Negara Berhad, a government-owned company, bought over ailing Intrakota Komposit and Cityliner, and handed over the bus operations to RapidKL in 2004.
With the government bankrolling its operations, RapidKL was able to expand its services swiftly in the Klang Valley.
However, instead of concentrating in areas devoid of bus services, it also chose to compete head-on with other bus operators.
It is common to see near empty RapidKL buses travelling in a convoy and leaving other routes underserviced or with no service at all.
The rationale for this is hard to fathom but it has led other bus operators to believe that these were attempts to kill off the competitors.
If unchecked, more private bus operators would close shop as they need to remain profitable to sustain operations.
It is a fallacy to believe that public bus services must be government-run so that the rakyat can benefit.
To maintain low bus fares and ensure frequency, the government can always subsidise bus companies based on fixed routes, timetables and actual kilometres clocked.
It would cost much less taxpayers’ money to nurture private bus companies than for the state to run bus services.
It has never been prudent for any government to venture into businesses where entrepreneurs are willing to risk their own money.
The government can play a vital role in areas where businessmen fear to tread or incapable of launching, such as the multibillion ringgit mass rapid transit system.
When operational in 2017, the 51km Sungai Buloh-Kajang line would serve as the main artery snaking through Kuala Lumpur.
However, its success would depend very much on the connection between homes and stations using buses, as there would never be enough parking spaces at MRT stations.
The last mile link between stations and workplaces is equally crucial.
In chock-o-block traffic, driving would get us nowhere. Over the past three and a half years, an average of 51,000 new vehicles, excluding motorcycles, were added to our roads every month, or more than two million units in total.
Without intervention, motorists would eventually spend more time in their cars than at work, and this would surely take a heavy toll on productivity and health.
Imposing heavy entry fees on restricted zones would be unfair to those who have no access to public transport.
The process of transforming public transportation to become the rakyat’s preferred mode for commute has to include overhauling the stage bus industry.
For a start, a comprehensive study is needed to determine the actual requirement of stage bus services in the Klang Valley as feedbacks from operators can be skewed.
Routes and frequencies should be decided by SPAD and not for the operators to choose. This would result in better use of existing resources and if short, the operators can procure more buses but not otherwise.
It should also stop pseudo operators renting out buses to drivers, much like local taxi companies renting out their cabs.
These full-size buses operate like oversized taxis as the drivers and conductors keep all the fares and pay a fixed rental to the bus company.
For them, the only motivation is to earn as much as they can for the day, and overtaking other buses to reach the passengers first is all part of a day’s job.
There are about a dozen stage bus companies operating into and out of Kuala Lumpur with a great variance in the quality of the buses.
RapidKL operates the best and most expensive buses and had bought more than they could find people to drive them. Currently, they are short of 500 drivers.
Private operators would replace their older buses when financing for new vehicles are available at more competitive rates.
They also need the same facility arranged by SPAD through Bank Simpanan Nasional to finance taxis and school buses.
If the quota for subsidised diesel is raised from 1,400 litres to 3,000 litres a month, more operators would invest in a skid tank as the monthly savings will go up from RM448 to RM960. Before the recent fuel price increase, it amounted to only RM168.
For long term measure, SPAD should set up an academy to train bus and taxi drivers to serve the public well.
Anyone above 21 and in good health can be trained to drive buses and those who are young have a 30-year career span ahead of them.
However, in order to attract the right people, the bus industry must be nursed back to health.
To begin with, the fares must be reasonable so that efficient operations become profitable and the workers paid enough to make a decent living.
The playing field should be level.
If needed, private stage bus operators can show proof that summonses were issued to their drivers waiting within a painted space meant for buses while other buses double-parked nearby were allowed to get away.
They could easily challenge and win in court but chose to pay the compound fine as they cannot renew the road tax for any of their vehicles as long as there are unsettled summonses.
But such stringent measures do not seem to apply to some operators as online checks showed a bus operator with over 300 unsettled summonses and an airport-based operator with over six thousand!
SPAD should be commended for introducing various grants to bus operators. Subsidies for diesel, tyres and maintenance add up to RM1.21 per km.
There are also subsidies for drivers, hire-purchase and insurance at RM3,375, RM7,292 and RM2,310 respectively per bus; 25% of management cost and entrance fees to bus terminals.
A RM400 million Interim Stage Bus Support Fund (ISBSF) was established early last year to provide assistance to stage bus operators covering loss-making social routes.
The government is prudent not to put all the eggs in one basket by allowing private stage bus companies to collapse and Rapid Buses to takeover.
For example in South Korea last year, 45,000 buses would be off the road had the 80,000 bus drivers gone ahead with their threatened strike.
In Malaysia, the right strategies and sound policies may be made at the highest level but they often go off tangent lower down due to biased implementation.
As such, it is necessary to go to the ground and hear the woes of private stage bus operators especially on alleged bullying tactics made against them.
Sadly, the local stage bus industry lack leadership and cohesiveness to serve the public well.
It would truly come of age when players work together and take a joint stand on the regulations and incentives needed by the industry to bring it to the next level.
Although it will be up to the authorities to approve, any mature industry should first take up a position and make known to all in order to move forward.
YS Chan
Kuala Lumpur