Passengers are waiting for a bus at bus terminal in Jalan Pos Baru, Klang. - KK SHAM/The Star
PUTRAJAYA: Stage bus operators that are receiving Federal Government subsidies through the Interim Stage Bus Support Fund (ISBSF) to stay afloat will now be subject to tighter standards, says Transport Minister Anthony Loke.
Beyond just merely operating the agreed number of trips, these operators must now observe a key performance indicator that is linked to punctuality, he said here yesterday as he unveiled measures to incentivise operators to provide efficient service to the people who are reliant on public transport, especially in the rural areas.
These residents, who can’t afford their own vehicles, are unable to drive, or can’t afford the e-hailing/taxi fares, rely a lot on stage buses to get about.
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However, running stage coaches in certain areas turned out to be loss-making for some companies, who are tempted to discontinue these services purely from the perspective of the bottom line.
In place since 2012, ISBSF has seen more than RM1bil in federal funding to keep rural stage coach services afloat.
“From 2023 to 2025, the government has allocated RM169.87mil for this purpose. It is a huge sum, but it is necessary for the sake of continuity. But when there is a huge allocation, the government needs to ensure the money is well spent, and is paid only to operators that deliver good and efficient service,” he said in his speech at the launch at the ministry here yesterday.
For the new ISBSF contracts that will be signed, the government will insert clauses to ensure bus punctuality, which is a perennial bugbear for users, who often do not have an idea when the next bus will arrive.
“Now, operators need to achieve adherence to their schedule at least 80% of the number of daily trips. Failure to comply means that particular company will not be eligible to receive payment,” said Loke, who added that digitalisation is also increasingly being employed, especially in fare payments.
“Secondly, the government will make it compulsory for cashless transactions for fare payment, and operators will receive financial aid to install the necessary equipment to make this happen, up to a maximum of RM450 per month. Cashless payments ensure that there will no longer be losses in revenue (from the cashbox),” he said.
Another improvement is the introduction of three-year contracts, which demonstrates the government’s commitment to provide quality stage bus services to the people. Previous contracts ranged from a year to two.
“However, I want to remind everyone that not every company will be given a three-year contract. Only those that score at least 70% in the performance evaluation during the 2021-2022 period will be given a three-year contract.
“Those who score between 50% and 70% will be given contracts of a year, while those that fail to hit 50% will not be offered any new contract,” said Loke.
Present at the event yesterday were 37 stage bus companies from all over the country, with 26 of them receiving a three-year deal, with the rest given a year-long deal.
ISBSF was established in 2012 to help cover the daily operating costs of the bus stop operators involved, following losses incurred due to unprofitable routes, to prevent these bus companies from terminating these services.
Complementing ISBSF is the Stage Bus Service Transformation (SBST) that began in 2015 in places like Kangar, Seremban, Ipoh, and Kuala Terengganu.
Meanwhile, Loke also announced that Prasarana Malaysia Bhd – operator of the MRT, LRT, monorail and Sunway BRT, will display publicly how it is meeting its KPIs.
On Wednesday, he said a new KPI system and monthly updates will be posted on social media starting May, and this will chiefly revolve around how far trains can run (in kilometres) before breaking down for more than five minutes, a universal measurement known as mean kilometres between failures (MKBF).
Loke said at present, the MKBF data was only disclosed to the ministry, but the public will soon be able to know the reliability of the rail system.
“Technical issues or delay beyond five minutes affects the MKBF, which at present stands at 150,000km (for Prasarana), and our target for MKBF is 1,000,000km by 2026,” he said after breaking fast with Rapid Rail staff at its Lembah Subang depot in Petaling Jaya.
In addition, Loke said there will also be weekly reports on maintenance of facilities, escalators and lifts, along with ridership.
He added through such disclosures and updates, the public would be kept informed about the state of services, and this would also ensure Prasarana continues to improve the reliability and quality of its services.
