KOTA KINABALU: The Transport Ministry today held a pre-launch of the BAS.MY service to provide a more dynamic, efficient, and effective bus service to residents around this city by February next year.
Its minister, Anthony Loke, said the pre-launch demonstrated the federal government's commitment to empowering modern bus services in Kota Kinabalu, which would bring about a major transformation to the city's image.
He said that RM17.6mil per year, or RM88mil in total over five years, will be spent to implement the Stage Bus Service Transformation (SBST) initiative in Kota Kinabalu, with eight routes offered involving a total of 48 new buses.
This service will be launched in stages starting next month (October) with the introduction of a free trial (free ride) service around the Kota Kinabalu city area until January, before the new buses are expected to arrive early next year.
A total of 48 buses will be used in this full-service operation. So far, three buses are already in Kota Kinabalu to operate," he told reporters after officiating the pre-launch of the bus service at KK Sentral here today.
Loke said BAS.MY was also given a new lease of life through a fresher and more user-friendly rebranding, including the introduction of a pink bus design to make it easier for the public to recognise the service, while also attracting young people to use public transportation.
He said the bus service offers various modern features to improve the quality of public transportation in Kota Kinabalu, including more strategic routes, a real-time GPS monitoring system, a cashless payment or e-ticket system, closed-circuit cameras, and facilities for people with disabilities and senior citizens.
He said this would simultaneously replace in stages the existing stop-and-go bus service system, which is still based on an old and conservative model.
"Previously, the bus services around Kota Kinabalu were largely operated by private entities. We won't disrupt this and they can still operate without any problems because there are remote areas like Tuaran that rely on these existing services," he said.
"For private business owners, they can't operate on schedule because there are constraints; sometimes, if there aren't enough passengers, they run at a loss.
"This BAS.MY service was introduced for the areas around Kota Kinabalu city, which will operate on a scheduled basis. This concept is more advantageous for operators, as they are paid according to the operational schedule, eliminating their risk. So, whether there are passengers or not, or if there are fewer passengers, the bus still has to run," he said.
Loke said similar initiatives were also implemented in major cities in several states such as Kangar, Perlis; Seremban, Negeri Sembilan; Ipoh, Perak; Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu; Johor Bharu, Johor; Kuantan, Pahang; and Kuching, Sarawak.
He also said BAS.MY will offer free fares to people with disabilities, senior citizens, school students, and university students, with a one-time payment of RM10 for them to obtain a concession card for public transport access.
For other users, they only need to pay RM50 for unlimited travel on all eight BAS.MY Kota Kinabalu routes for a period of 30 days, he added. - Bernama
