School bus drivers in a huff over illegal operators
MIRI: Federation of School Bus Operator Associations Sarawak is seeing red over the illegal operation of school buses in the state – a problem that has been going on for years, says federation president Rosnah Abdul Hadi.
According to feedback from members here, in Kuching, Bintulu and Limbang, the majority of them are very upset by the situation but even more frustrating for them is that there is yet any solution for the problem.
“This (illegal school bus operation) are not only depriving legitimate operators of this business, but it is also tarnishing their good image and that of the federation as well,” she said in a press conference on the issue here yesterday, where Miri City School Buses Association chairman Penghulu Samad Ali and his counterpart from Limbang School Buses Association, Councilor Agnes Undil were also present.
In this regard, Rosnah called on the relevant authorities to address the problem immediately and effectively.
“The federation members can no longer tolerate this problem, which is getting worse with the emergence of more illegal operators, particularly in the Senadin and Lutong areas.”
Rosnah said even more frustrating was that these unlicensed operators dared to publicly distribute leaflets on their services which they disguised as ‘school vans’.
“It’s worrying that the students are actually taking a risk whenever they board these illegal school vans, in that the operators do not have the permit for the service – meaning that they don’t have the insurance for passengers as required under the permit.
“However, there is no way for us to compete with them (illegal operators) as they are offering almost half of the fees that we charge. Many of our members suffer – some had no other option but to close down the business as they could not cope with a host of financial burdens such as the ever-increasing fuel price and vehicle maintenance fees.
“How can we survive in this situation? The majority of our passengers (students) are now taking the illegal bus service. One of our members has told me that he is now ferrying only three students on board his 30seater bus. This is totally unfair – the relevant authorities should do something about it and put an end to this problem,” she stressed.
In her remarks, Agnes said she fully agreed with and supported Rosnah’s mission to safeguard the interest of the federation members.
“In Limbang, the monthly school bus fee that we charge is only RM30 – I’ve been told by many that this rate is the cheapest in Sarawak.
“We still stick to this rate in providing legitimate and licensed service to our customers, amidst the unstable fuel price and economic situation but in the end, we lose out to those running their operations without permit. This is totally unfair,” she lamented.