IPOH: Schools in Bidor have seen a drop in attendance since the absence of bus service made it difficult for students to get to class.
Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Parents-Teachers Association president, Syeikh Abdul Ghani said most of the students in the area depended on the bus to get to school and come back home.
"Since the Hup Yik bus service stopped, the attendance of students has been deplorable, so we hope the state government will urgently restore public transport for the surrounding community.
"For Orang Asli students, there is no problem because the Orang Asli Development Department (Jakoa) has prepared a special van to pick them up and send them to school.
"However, it is a problem for other students, most of whom are not well off. Using rental cars or e-hailing services every day is not an option. Their parents don't have time to drop them off and pick them either,” he told Bernama.
SK Kampong Poh Parents-Teachers Association president, Ahmad Fadyil Abdul Maulud, said he was informed that the bus company had to stop operations because it could not afford the maintenance costs due to the lack of passengers.
Meanwhile, when contacted, Perak Infrastructure, Energy, Water and Public Transport Committee chairman Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin said the state government is sorting out the problem with related parties.
"We are working with Perak Transit and the Land Public Transport Agency (APAD) to restore the Tapah-Sungkai route bus service using the Bas Perak Sejahtera service with a nominal payment of RM1.
"We will make an announcement on this if APAD agrees,” he said.
He said a temporary bus service is also being worked on for the convenience of the residents and students, which is currently awaiting approval from APAD.- Bernama
