New school bus fare soon, says transport authority

The Land and Public Transport Commission (SPAD) will meet school bus operators and other stakeholders for feedback before deciding on the new fares.

The Federation of School Bus Operators Association, which represents more than 14,000 members nationwide, had suggested bus fares be increased by 30% for the new school term starting next year.

SPAD group operations chief Abdul Halim Hussain said the reduction of fuel subsidies by 20 sen in September had obviously affected the operations of public transport.

"SPAD has completed about 70% of our study for the new bus fares," he was quoted as saying by Berita Harian, adding that SPAD’s decision will take into account the interests of both operators and users.

The monthly fare of a city school bus is RM27.43 for the first kilometre or part of it; RM2.02 for every additional kilometre.

A 30% surcharge is allowed on the total fare if the bus is air-conditioned.

Abdul Halim said the new school bus fare mechanism is similar to the one used to fix fares for express buses.