KenaSaman.com

KUALA LUMPUR: There may soon be an end to the long-standing problem of stage buses making losses and having to shut down.

The Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) expects the Government to come up with a long-term solution to the problem which saw some operators in Seremban and Penang halting several routes.

Commission chairman Tan Sri Syed Hamid Albar said SPAD has prepared a working paper to be submitted to the Government.

“We hope there will be a decision by this year.

“The Government is aware of the severity and urgency of this matter,” he said at a press conference after presenting 50 operating licences to school bus operators here yesterday.

Konsortium Transnasional Ber­had director Tengku Hasmadi Tengku Hashim was reported to have said that KTB had lost RM7mil last year.

Pan Malaysian Bus Operators Association president Datuk Ashfar Ali warned that 80 bus routes, serviced by 17 companies, may have to cease operations by this month for the same reason.

Meanwhile, Syed Hamid urged school bus operators to apply for operating licences or risk having their vehicles impounded.

Addressing criticism that applying for school bus licences was difficult and tedious, he said this was just an assumption and SPAD has been very flexible in granting licences.

“As long as you prove that you have the financial capability, the school’s agreement to ferry its students and Public Service Vehicle licences, operators can get the operating permit.

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