Seven vehicle permits belonging to Merry Holidays suspended

PETALING JAYA: Seven express bus company operating vehicle permits belonging to Merry Holidays Sdn Bhd will be suspended from Apr 27, after one of its buses crashed on Apr 20, killing a British tourist.

An investigation by the Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) revealed that the company failed to follow conditions set by SPAD's industry code of practice (ICOP), leading to the suspension.

In a statement, a spokesperson said these conditions included: "Not installing a Global Positioning System (GPS) device on the vehicle, not appointing a safety officer, failing to monitor the crashed vehicle's speed limits and failing to check on the driver before starting the journey."

This is the third such suspension by SPAD against express bus companies in the past week. Previously, 27 Konsortium Transnasional Berhad and six Etika Express bus permits were suspended after crashes were committed by drivers from both companies.

SPAD added that since August 2013, it suspended a total of 542 company vehicle permits including that of stage, express, tour and school buses as well as trade vehicles that have met with accidents or have violated its industry code of practice.