SEREMBAN: The free bus service provided by the Negri Sembilan government in Nilai, Jempol and the city here has been stopped, says Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Aminuddin Harun.
The service was halted on July 1 mainly because of low ridership, he added.
"We have been providing the free bus service for years now but the ridership never improved.
"Also, there is no point to continue as the majority of the passengers using the service are foreigners," he said when met after chairing the state exco meeting at Wisma Negri here on Wednesday (Aug 28).
Aminuddin said the introduction of the BAS.MY stage bus service was another reason why the free bus service was scrapped.
"The new stage bus service with its brand new pink buses also offers free rides to senior citizens, special needs individuals and students.
"It no longer makes economic sense to continue the free bus service," he said.
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The Federal Government has allocated RM179.1mil for the stage bus service (SBST) in Negri Sembilan over five years.
It will cost the federal authorities RM100,000 a day or RM3mil a month to provide the service throughout Negri Sembilan.
State transportation, housing and local government development committee chairman J. Arul Kumar said 90 buses would run throughout the state under the SBST.
"The focus now is to encourage more people to use the stage bus where the charges are free for certain individuals and minimal for others.
"It is pointless for the state to spend money on the free bus service which has low ridership when the Federal Government through the Transport Ministry has allocated a huge amount for the SBST," he said.
He said on average, only between 20 and 30 people used the free bus service daily and this was not viable.
On a separate matter, Aminuddin said the state government will consider upgrading bus stations and related infrastructure in the districts following the introduction of the BAS.MY stage service.
"We need to make sure the stations would be used by more commuters before we decide to upgrade them.
"It will be a waste of public funds if we upgrade them and they are not used by more people," he said.
He was responding to Transport Minister Anthony Loke's statement that state governments should play their part in promoting SBST by upgrading bus terminals, bus stops and related infrastructure for the convenience of commuters.
Aminuddin said the state government had previously upgraded the Port Dickson bus terminal but it remained under-utilised.
"Upgrading is one thing, maintaining these facilities will also cost money," he added.
