Major festivals are when express bus services are needed the most, but it’s not the lack of coaches that is the issue this Raya, but the shortage of drivers, The Star reports.
The bus companies claim they do not have enough money to convince the drivers to stick around, and are asking for at least a 10% fare hike during the mid-July break. Should this not materialise, they will not be able to convince their Muslim-majority driver workforce to stay.
“About 80% of our drivers are Muslim. They are asking why they should work during Raya if we can’t increase their salary,” said Johor Bus Operators Association president G. Suchdev, who added that a 20% fare increase would have allowed companies to raise salaries.
“That’s why we’re asking for the additional surcharge. The drivers have to sacrifice Hari Raya to keep the service running,” said Pan Malaysian Bus Operators Association president Datuk Mohd Ashfar Ali, who wants fares raised from 9.3 sen to 11.4 sen per km.
It’s not just during Raya though, as the industry is gradually losing its drivers. While Mohd Ashfar couldn’t provide countrywide numbers on how many had left in recent years, Suchdev said some 400 bus drivers in Johor might have quit in the past two years. Destination, Singapore.
Johor is reportedly losing its bus drivers to Singapore, where the basic pay can be more than RM4,000
The money is better across the Causeway. With overtime and commission, express bus drivers here could earn a maximum of around RM3,000. Basic pay for Malaysian drivers in Singapore can be more than S$1,400 (RM4,000).
The bus operators are urging the government to deregulate express bus fares, like with school buses since January this year, if they are not willing to increase fares. A fare deregulation will open up a free market where operators come up with their own prices and compete with each other to attract passengers.
The ball is in the Land Public Transport Commission’s (SPAD) court now. “Fare deregulation would provide healthy competition to provide the best service to the public. But this still needs approval from the government as it involves public interest,” said SPAD chairman, Tan Sri Syed Hamid Albar.
In March 2015, SPAD announced a price hike for both taxis and express bus services. The government gave the green light for taxis, but postponed a fare hike for express buses.
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This is the problem. Like the polis force and bomba etc, why get majority from one race?
Isn’t time to start employing other races too? Most races also want jobs but not given to them. But authorities will lie and say other races don’t want to join Government, don’t want to join Polis etc.
grow up..this is not government service laa… non malay don’t want to work as bus driver. In KV alone, rapidKl require 500 drivers but nobody is interested although the perks and benefit are quite attractive. As the article stated, the moolah is at the red dot…
I know so many non malay want to become bus driver brader!
WTF!!!!, bro or sissy, whatever u are, u are invited to be one of those drivers. And please invite your friends, relatives, uncles and unties as well (as long as u (they) are eligible).
Why u don’t ask them to go to bus company n join as bus driver?
SPAD charman albar earns over RM100k per month (excluding bonus) being SPAD chairman. Maybe he should take a pay cut to RM5k. The remaining RM95k can be used to subsidise the 10% increase in bus fares
Govt department approve the licenses…
If this a cronies business for them it does involved with Govt.
Kid go back learn that this country had fall into the cronies.
Thanks to Tun DrM his cronies buddies keep taking full advantage of employees.
This is what happens when you have 5Malaysia. The perks and benefit are quite attractive only in the eyes of Malays who are desperate.
go ask Mr G. Suchdev President of Johor Bus Operators Association why he doesn’t hire driver from other race…or you can give a name list to him because you said “Most races also want jobs but not given to them” so he can hire them as bus driver during this raya season.
win-win solution – no fare hike and other race can have the job.
Hello, if our country was just one race to begin with, this problem would be the same.
The problem is two-fold. 1.
1.the attitudes of the workers themselves. Why can’t they work during Raya? Who else is going to drive these buses to ferry people home safely? They chose to be a bus driver, deal with it.
2.demand and supply. I say let them deregulate. Then no need to hear any more nonsense from the bus driver associations. the higher they raise the prices, the more likely consumers consider flying, or taking trains or driving. then they can deal with the problem of not enough passengers themselves.
This is what happens when you have 5Malaysia. The perks and benefit are quite attractive only in the eyes of Malays who are desperate.
“Time to Stop Being Racist” please stop being racist. Very funny. Racist comment from someone who urge to stop being racist.
Bullshit…ko penah pegi ker tgk masa pengambilan bomba, polis…tentera etc, mana ada bangsa lain sgt…klu ada mmg cepat jer dpt sebab kuota mmg byk utk bangsa lain. Ko jer dok bawah tempurung, sembang macam pelaq, padahal apa pun xtau…typical keyboard warrior jer…puiih
WTF!!!!, bro or sissy, whatever u are, u are invited to be one of those drivers. And please invite your friends, relatives, uncles and unties as well (as long as u (they) are eligible).
During Raya festive season, thousands of houses get robbed. Some people even suffer by getting raped by robbers. Why? Because the Polis force majority one race.
We are just 5 years to 2020. Developed country status.
Not only during raya.. robbers are active any festive season la.. Stop being racist.. you think all policemen are all on holiday ka during raya. Ever heard holiday of these guys being freeze because of ops sikap?
Funny, the target market that the government is supposed to help with all the NEP stuff in place is finding it better to just go to Singapore, which practices meritocracy.
How sad. Bangsa sendiri is screwing their own people in their own festive season. the bus companies are all crony owned. Most of them are owned by relatives of Ministers. they make hundreds of million ringgit profit. Don’t be fooled by the different bus company names. All companies are just owned by 3 or 4 individual cronies. just like Low Yat Plaza, you see so many computer shops, but actually only 4 or 5 companies making it seem there are so many different shops.
So, these 3 or 4 crony bus owners, mostly relatives of UMNO fat cronies make hundreds of millions per annum.
But Raya time, they want to perah their own bangsa for extra 10 percent fee hike. How sad.
That’s right. I’m from that majority race and I think might as well let Singapore govern our country. Surely they can’t do worse than the current G, no?
But Najib already confirmed to Malaysian public that in 5 years time, Malaysia is on its way to become high income nation and Najib himself 100% affirmed that our GDP Per Capita will be US$48,000.
That means, average Malaysians will earn US$4000 per month. (RM15,000 per month)
Najib confirmed this. This was reported in the newspaper. Average Malaysian will earn RM15,000 per month.
So why go Singapore?
you know how calculation for ‘average’ or not..
they should work on to narrow the income gap first..bring up the minimum wage.
no point talking about average here.
simple calculation for 2 person.
A earn RM29100 B earn minimum wage RM900, average still I can say RM 15000.
No comment, i’m excited to see how many dislike u get!
Because it’s Najib who’s saying it, not the state of economy.
We all kena najib la … Lol!
Read the word “average”. That means the median between the most richest and the most poorest. Bus drivers in Asean are always ranked at the lower end. Same pay, just different currencies, thats all. The industry has shortchanged the drivers for a long time.
In Japan, drivers are called bus captains and treated with respect. They be given uniforms (including captain hat!), white gloves, polished shoes (not slipar, mind you), basic courtesy training and the rest is up to the drivers’ pride in his work. Their employers and customers (even drunk ones) treat them with respect and the drivers would reply in kind. Treat them like low paying slaves, such as here, its no surprise they will act like one.
The same goes in Europe. Commercial driving is a professional job whereby its highly regulated to ensure the drivers are doing their jobs professionally, timely, and safely.
These operators are trying to strongarm the Gov into getting their way. Especially since the extra charges dun go into the drivers pay, just into these fat cats pocket.
We should support the Gov into rejecting these demands, and instead demand from them to improve service, otherwise dun take their bus to balik Raya. Fly, drive, take rail, & other honest bus services.
We know you make the first stupid three comments.
1.since when there is a racial quota on bus driver.
2.irrelevant
3.meritocracy for bua drivers in singapore. Are you a SJKC drop ouy. Its the money stupid. No singaporean can live off $1400..but convert to RM is like executive pay in malaysia.
Lel RM4,000/month as a bus driver in Singapore, I’ll bet most of junior executive in KV earn less than that. Why spend 4 years study in Uni when you earn less than a bus driver then.
Pay them well & look after their needs (no forcing drivers to do more than 12 hour shifts), and they will come up in droves.
No worries.
We have a lot of “foreign talents” both legal and illegal.
Currently the amount of foreigners are more than Indians in Malaysia , we haven’t consider the amount of illegals yet.
i would say deregulate the bus express fee but make it strict order that they CANNOT operate at night. and SPAD must come up with a monthly pay system. not that they got to chase trips for bigger pay
The key issue here is the boss of bus companies are depriving the drivers. At the back, They untung banyak banyak, in front you all, the complain kos naiklah, petrol naiklah etc.
The next issue is our Malaysia consumer power is very very weak. They can organize big protest government, but cannot do even small boycotting exercise on these bus companies…The worst still, they believe the excuses given by bus operators on cost up is reasonable….
tell the drivers, u tak suka, u resign…
cannot let them decide when to work or not. work means work and everyone must work.