JELEBU: Those awarded contracts to operate stage bus services must buy new vehicles within six months, says Transport Minister Anthony Loke.
The operators will also have to paint their entire fleet pink, and install CCTV cameras as well as GPS tracking under the rebranded stage bus service to be known as BAS.MY, he added.
He said if the operators fail to get new buses within the stipulated period, the Land Public Transport Agency (Apad) will penalise them.
"Under the Stage Bus Service Transportation or SBST programme to be introduced in all states except the Klang Valley and Penang, we will give priority to local and smaller operators.
"This is better than giving such contracts to big players because if they run into problems, the service may be affected," he said Friday (Aug 16) after officially launching the first BAS.MY service in the country covering Kuala Klawang, Kuala Pilah/Bahau and Port Dickson.
The routes under package B in Negri Sembilan will be serviced by 44 buses of various sizes and two vans.
Package A covers the rest of the state.
Loke said both packages were awarded to local operators on merit by the Finance Ministry.
He said the Federal Government has allocated RM179.1mil for the SBST in Negri Sembilan alone for five years.
"The government has set aside a big allocation so that more people will use the service.
"In Negri Sembilan alone, we will be spending RM100,000 a day or RM3mil a month," he said.
Loke said BAS.MY will be free for students, senior citizens and special-needs individuals.
They will however be required to register with the service operator to be eligible.
He said for passenger convenience, there will be various modes of payment such as debit, credit and prepaid cards.
They will also be able to pay using ewallets.
Loke said as an added service, the appointed operator will also be required to provide a door-to-door special service for individuals with limited mobility such as wheelchair users for transport to hospitals.
"We are starting this for those in Negri Sembilan under the MAS.MY Medik service.
"Those who require the service will only be charged a minimal amount," he said.
Loke said Apad will monitor the service through GPS tracking to ensure the buses run on schedule.
"If the operator fails to follow the schedule, we will deduct payment from them," he said.
Loke said the buses should be punctual irrespective of passenger load as the operators were already being paid by the government.
"They have no excuse not to run on time.
"There are no risks for the operator even if the number of passengers in the bus is low," he said, adding that the frequency would be between 30 minutes and an hour depending on the area.
Loke said if SBST ridership increases, the government will consider expanding the service.
He hoped all state governments would play their part in promoting SBST by upgrading bus terminals, stops and related infrastructure for commuters' convenience.
Citing an example, he said the main Terminal 1 bus station in Seremban was being upgraded for commuters to have a better experience when using public transport.
