Steep hike: The government has set the price of diesel in the peninsula at RM3.35 per litre in line with the diesel subsidy rationalisation exercise. — CHAN BOON KAI/The Star
GEORGE TOWN: Factory and tour bus operators are bearing the brunt of the government’s decision to float diesel prices, with some seeing their operation costs almost doubling.
Tour bus operator Ahmad Ruslan Abdul Latiff said the government’s latest move resulted in the price of diesel increasing by about 56%.
“This has affected us badly,” he said.
Citing an example, the Northern Coalition of Tour Bus Operators’ president said the diesel consumption for a trip to Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) from Penang previously cost RM1,500. He said it would now cost about RM2,300, adding that as a domino effect, the cost of bus servicing, spare parts prices and other related items would rise over the coming weeks.
“Some clients have cancelled their bookings with us after being told of the revised price as a result of the diesel price hike,” he said.
A factory bus operator based in south Seberang Perai said the diesel price increase was too abrupt.
“They should have done it in stages, not suddenly like this,” said the operator, who requested anonymity.
She said the diesel price hike, coupled with rising spare parts cost, would make life difficult for small companies.
“It will eat into our revenue, thus affecting us as we need to take care of staff salaries and other expenses.
“What about the existing contracts that my factory bus company has signed with companies that have engaged us to ferry their workers?
“I have to honour the contract and cannot simply raise prices for my service.
“The government should think of some mechanism to help us, such as giving us the same subsidies as what school bus operators are receiving,” she added.
Peninsular Malaysia Bus Drivers Association chairman Sa’adan Man said the floating of diesel price will impact operators of factory and tour buses.
He said the price increase would result in additional costs, such as fuel surcharges and other operating costs.
“While subsidies may alleviate some of the burden, the fare increase looks inevitable as operators, too, need to cover their rising expenses,” he said.
However, he said the effect would not be so much on bus drivers, but more on the operator or owner of a transportation company that relies on diesel.
Federation of Malaysian School Bus Associations president Amali Munif Rahmat said there was no reason for school bus operators to raise their fees as a result of the increase in diesel price.
“School bus operators are not affected by this as they can continue to enjoy subsidised diesel through the use of fleet cards under the Subsidised Diesel Regulation System Pilot Project (SKDS),” he said.
Despite that, he said sooner or later, the industry would feel the pinch, no thanks to the chain reaction triggered by the higher operational cost of those selling bus spare parts and providing vehicle servicing.
