‘School bus fare for June must be paid in full’

BINTULU: School bus fare for June must be paid in full as agreed by the government and the school bus operators in Malaysia.

Bintulu School Bus Owners Association chairperson Doris Daha Bujang Ngek said there is no reason for parents to criticise school bus operators over the decision.

She made this remark when responding to parents’ allegations which were posted on social media that school bus operators were making unreasonable claims for school bus fare during the long holidays in June this year even though they (operators) were also subsidised by the government.

“Parents said school days for June are only one week, in actual fact, it’s two weeks plus another five days (June 4 to June 8) being replaced on 27/01, 24/02, 10/03, 28/04 and 12/05,” Doris explained.

This situation she said was due to special holiday in conjunction with Gawai and Hari Raya celebrations and with replacement schooldays.

She added on the parents’ claim that they (operators) received government diesel subsidy, they did have fuel subsidy card from Ministry of Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism last time.

“Ever since the fuel cards expired, their renewal was never approved. More than 140 school bus operators including myself as the president of the Federation of School Bus Operator Associations Sarawak also don’t enjoy that privilege. I hope parents understand the real situation; licensed school bus operators are also paying for hefty insurance charges and twice yearly Puspakom inspection including school holidays. Operators with new vehicles also have to pay their loan instalments. So please be considerate. Some operators even pick up children from their houses and bring them to schools safely,” Doris added.

She pointed out that for replacement schooldays, school bus operators never request for additional charges. Even for replacement classes, they also provide transport.

Doris said the operators are considering taking legal action against those who keep on making baseless statements and claims on social media. She also advised parents who are not satisfied with the service of school bus operators to look for other transport service alternatives.

Association members are also advised to check whether their new customers were previously from other bus operators who had refused to pay the full fare for June.

She said action will be taken against members who refused to follow the advice as it might reflect disunity on the association’s stand on that matter.

Meanwhile the president of Federation of Malaysian School Bus Operator Associations Mohd Rofik Mohd Yusoff in a statement said school bus operators were allowed to charge full fares for May and June.