Shortage of bus parking bays causing problems at tourist sites

YELLOW police must be having their hands full.

Actually, the elephant in the room is being overlooked. Buses are being parked all over the place. Other than private depots operated by bus companies and limited space at bus stations, drivers park their buses anywhere they can. This include school and employee buses that are parked near the homes of drivers. Tour buses are parked overnight near hotels or on standby at tourist attractions during the day.

Little is being done by the local authorities to provide bus parks.

In 2011, the Tourism and Culture Ministry announced the Tourism Transformation Plan to attract 36 million visitors to the country with a projected spending of RM168 billion annually, by 2020. But, little is being done to cater for an average of 100,000 foreign tourists entering our country daily, or three million monthly.

The shortage of parking facilities is acutely felt in Cameron Highlands, particularly in Brinchang, where an open space used for parking buses has been fenced in for an integrated complex project, which includes a hotel, offices and supermarket. The tourist town is congested with tour buses blocking traffic, especially during school holidays.

The local authorities should not wait for bus operators to approach them and propose that public open spaces be converted into bus parks, where buses can be parked, and cleaning and inspections can be carried out in between trips. This is because bus operators fear that they would compelled to park their buses overnight and charged high fees. Hence, they would rather park for free, albeit haphazardly, as they have been doing all along.

The best way forward is for local authorities to collaborate with the ministry, Land Public Transport Commission, Road Transport Department, Institute Of Road Safety Research or the Road Safety Department and come up with a plan for buses and other vehicles — perhaps, a bus park where there are public amenities such as toilets, shower facilities and sleeping capsules, which allow drivers to rest or take a nap. Statistics show that road fatalities continue to rise, from 6,706 deaths in 2015 to 7,152 last year. This, despite road safety awareness programmes.

A holistic approach is necessary, and this includes building bus parks with facilities in all cities and tourist attractions.