Our lives in their hands

Taking the express bus is increasingly becoming a dangerous ride, but many have to do it. It is time to guarantee their trips are safe.

 

WITH her ageing parents’ health failing by the day, Iraf Mohammad tries to visit them in Kuala Lumpur every month. Living in Tanjung Tualang, Perak, however, makes it difficult.

“There is only one bus that goes to KL from Tanjung Tualang, so even if I am scared because of the number of bus accidents lately, I have no choice.

“I can only pray hard each time I board the bus, because if not I won’t be able to see my parents,” she says while waiting for her bus at Pudu Sentral on Friday.

Iraf is not alone. The express bus service is the mode of travel for many, not only because it is the most affordable long distance transport plying the country, but also because it is often the only one available for the rural reaches of the land.

“I would take the train if I could but there is none to Kuantan,” says “satellite” father of four A. Aziz, who was going back for the weekend to see his family.

 

Death on wheels: The bus being removed from the crash scene in Genting in August last year. As the report states, the accident showed that the causes are institutional and system based.

 

Aziz shares that when he was transferred to KL at the end of last year, he and his wife decided against uprooting the whole family from their hometown.

“We agreed that I would try to go home every two weeks. Driving is expensive with the high cost of petrol and toll, so I take the bus. But now with all the recent bus crashes, my wife told me that I don’t need to go home too often, and when I do to never take the night bus. It doesn’t give me much time to spend with my family, though,” he says.

These express bus commuters say they have no choice but to put their lives in the hands of the bus drivers.

“It’s a game of chance, so I try not to fall asleep during the journey,” says 63-year-old Abu Bakar Ismail who started taking the bus when his eyesight became too bad for him to drive.

Looking at the current incidence of bus accidents, it is becoming a game of chance for passengers who have no choice but to take the bus.

In the Genting bus crash last August, which left 37 passengers dead and 16 injured, survivors’ accounts told of the driver speeding, and when passengers asked him to slow down, he drove even faster.

The passengers in the most recent bus crash – a double decker which flipped over after crashing into an electricity pole at Km11 Jalan Bentong-Raub, killing three – claimed that the driver was not only speeding but also texting throughout the journey.

It was later confirmed that the driver had tested positive for drugs.

 

Improve working ­conditions

Driving while under the influence of drugs is a problem, concedes a driver who only wants to be known as Zakaria.

“We don’t get a basic wage, so if we want to earn enough, we need to do at least 20 trips a month,” says the 54-year-old who has been driving express buses for more than 25 years.

He claims that many resort to drugs to keep up with this demand.

“The problem is even if at first they are not addicts, they will soon become addicts,” he says, adding that the addicts evade the authorities by avoiding the festive season when urine tests and safety checks are conducted at the bus stations and on the road.

And when you have a tight schedule to meet, speeding is the only option, he adds. “If you are late, your wages are cut.”

What we need is to improve our working conditions, he says, imploring the Government to implement the minimum wage in the bus service industry.

“If they give us a minimum wage and supplement it with an allowance for each trip, then we won’t mind all the rules and regulations. You can be as strict as you want,” he says.

The working conditions of bus drivers is one of the 51 recommendations to ensure bus passengers’ safety made by the Independent Advisory Panel to the Transport Minister on the August 2013 Genting Highlands bus crash, says its chairman Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye.

 

As the report states, the Genting Highlands accident showed that the causes are institutional and system based, thus their findings and recommendations address the transport industry as a whole.

And as the worst bus accident in the country showed, the human factor is key.

“We need to look at how we can have reliable and safe drivers in the bus service industry – if they are not able to drive safely, how can they ensure passengers’ safety?

“That is why we need to treat them like people and start paying them decent wages, beginning with the national minimum wage as basic,” he says.

Sabri Sabtu, a former Felda developer who is now driving buses full-time, agrees that getting a decent wage makes a lot of difference.

“I guess I am one of the lucky ones – I get a basic wage and even EPF contribution from my employer, which many bus drivers are not getting from their companies,” he says.

A problem, however, is cost.

“Many bus operators are cutting cost. Now, many don’t even maintain their buses properly, what more give drivers a raise,” says Shidi, who has been a bus driver since 2006.

The low pay has already caused a shortage of drivers, compounding the problem further.

“I don’t blame them. Who wants to work in a low-paying job? The problem is bus companies cannot be too choosy nowadays, so many do not check the background and record of the new drivers they hire thoroughly. That is how you get the bad hats.”

Many bus operators are also not providing training or orientation courses for their new drivers because they cannot afford it or just want to save cost, claims Shidi.

He feels strongly that this endangers passengers, especially if the drivers are new.

“Many new drivers are not familiar with the mechanics of a big vehicle or the roads and highways. This makes their driving a high risk on the road, for example if they have to brake suddenly or swerve to avoid a car, they risk losing control of their vehicle,” he says.

This is where the authorities like the Transport Ministry, the Road Safety Department (JKJR) and Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) need to come in to not only regulate the bus service industry but also to support it for improvements, says Lee.

“To what extent are we prepared to learn from the Genting tragedy and reform the bus industry? To what extent are the bus operators willing to transform?” he argues.

 

Responsibility of bus operators?

The problem of bus drivers’ fatigue and use of stimulants due to their long working hours is nothing new.

The Malaysian Institute for Road Safety Research (Miros), for one, has highlighted this countless times while JKJR has also recorded the issue.

The onus of addressing the problem, however, is put mainly on the bus operators.

As JKJR director general Datuk Dr Tam Weng Wah told The Star earlier, bus operators need to conduct regular spot checks, particularly on the more “problematic” drivers.

“Why is this only the bus operator’s responsibility?” asks a regular bus user who only wants to be known as Madam Lim. “What about the authorities, this involves the lives of ordinary people.”

Lee concurs.

“The enforcement agencies and regulating bodies need to conduct regular urine tests on the drivers as well as mental health exams to check their mental state.

“The relevant authorities also need to take action against the bus operators that do not meet safety standards.”

In a press statement last week, SPAD gave assurance that it will take stern actions against errant drivers and bus operators.

It stated that it had revoked the licence of six bus operators and suspended two since the middle of the year.

In February, SPAD said it had stepped up the enforcement of the Industry Code of Practice (ICOP) circular, which was gazetted in August last year after the Genting crash.

The ICOP enforcement circular requires bus operators to emphasise all aspects of safety, maintenance and supervision of drivers. It also focuses on stringent conditions for licensing.

SPAD said it periodically updated the application process and procedure to obtain permits for public transport vehicles.

The permits are only issued after obtaining approvals from the Road Transport Department in terms of technical specifications and inspection from Puspakom (Computerised Vehicle Inspection Centre).

A check among bus drivers, however, showed that most know nothing of the ICOP circular which also provides safety guidelines for buses.

“Maybe the Government has tightened the rules for safety, but not the bus operators,” says a driver who declines to be named.

Student Anira Sabran, 19, who takes the bus from Ipoh to Tangkak, Johor, to attend the matriculation college there, also agrees that she has not seen any improvements in the safety measures of the bus services.

“I do get scared, especially after the Genting crash, but what can I do? I have no other way of travelling from home to college and back.”

The authorities and Government need to take heed of the recommendations of the Genting Bus Crash report and implement what they can, as well as enforce the laws without fear or favour, urges Lee.

“Ultimately, political will is important to improve road safety. Don’t let the report just collect dust. If we don’t learn from mistakes, these accidents will happen again and again.

“We already have 7,000 deaths a year on the road. We shouldn’t lose any more innocent lives.”

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