School bus operators committed to keeping students safe
KUALA LUMPUR: School bus operators are ready to restart their services once primary and secondary students resume classes on July 15 and July 22.
Persekutuan Persatuan-Persatuan Bas Sekolah Malaysia (PPPBSM) chairman Amali Munif Rahmat said they received the standard operating procedures (SOP) from the Transport Ministry.
“We have distributed the SOP to the 32 associations under us, which have 10,000 bus drivers nationwide. The bus drivers have studied the SOP and are prepared.
“Face masks and use of sanitisers will be a must for students and drivers. Drivers are expected to carry out physical screening of a student’s health and look out for symptoms, such as cough or fever.
“Those with symptoms will be barred from boarding the bus. Some drivers are willing to go the extra mile by getting their own temperature scanner. They are aware that their buses and vans must be sanitised and disinfected at the end of services daily.
“I do not see any problem with bus drivers adapting to this new normal. They have to get used to it to safeguard the health of the students and their own,” Amali told the New Straits Times.
PPPBSM, he added, had disseminated the SOP via social media platforms to their drivers earlier, giving them sufficient time to prepare when school reopens.
Amali said drivers were free to get an assistant to help them facilitate checks on the students’ compliance of the SOP or bring forward their pick-up schedules.
This was to ensure that operations ran smoothly and students could get to school on time.
He said they were allowed to operate at full seating capacity although they foresaw that the number of students might be halved due to the rotation schedule of the students.
Some 95 per cent of drivers under PPPBSM, added Amali, ferried primary school pupils and secondary schools students.
“We hope that parents will also play their part to ensure that their children are healthy and equip them with face masks and hand sanitisers to use during the commute.”
Asked on any possible fee hike, Amali replied that PPPBSM was not empowered to intervene, adding that the matter was best resolved between the operators and parents.
School van driver Nor Baiti Muhammad Sidik said she was prepared to drive 20 to 25 students as well as kindergarten pupils living in her neighbourhood in Taman Seri Buloh, Paya Jaras.
Baiti, who has been a school van driver for the past decade, owns a 10-seater vehicle.
She ferries a majority of students to SMK Bandar Baru Sungai Buloh and SK Bandar Baru Sungai Buloh for morning and afternoon sessions, located some 4km from the neighbourhood.
She said it was vital that the SOP were fully adhered to as the safety of the students and pupils were her priority.
Baiti said the onus was on her to ensure that they were healthy under her care and encouraged parents to check on their children’s health before letting them return to school.
She said she did not mind providing hand sanitisers to students despite the additional cost incurred and was willing to do all she could to protect them.
“I am the last person they see before they go to school, so I will remind them to follow the SOP. They are like my own children.
“Also, they have not seen each other for four months and I bet they are excited to meet their friends. There will be plenty to talk about and catch up and I will remind them to practice social distancing and limit their communications if possible.”