SANDAKAN – Spending a few more ringgit daily on stagecoaches and minibuses has taken a toll on locals who are barely earning a minimum wage here, especially when seating capacity is no longer limited to 50%.
The 50% price hike set by drivers started last year after the government decided to only allow up to 50% capacity for buses during the various movement control orders.
Local shopkeeper Emily Salang, 24, said the bus fare has increased from RM2 to RM3 for her to get from Mile 10 to Mile 8 here (about 3.2km) and it has become a burden for minimum-wage earners like herself.
She told The Vibes that the extra RM1 per trip is equivalent to an increase of about RM50 for a month.
“At first, we accepted the price hike because we thought it was temporary because of the standard operating procedure (SOP) that limits bus capacity to 50%.
“We understand that the buses have to pay for their fuel. However, now that the SOP allows buses to operate at 75% capacity, shouldn’t the bus fare be reduced? Maybe by 50 sen?”
She said she hopes that the authorities will resolve this problem because bus fares generally affect the lower-income groups.
Here, there are very few stagecoaches and minibuses are actually vans that can take up to 12 people.
These buses operate on scheduled trips, and each bus has a designated route that it has to follow in accordance with the registration of the bus. For example, a bus registered for the town to Mile 4 could not operate beyond Mile 4.
About half of the vans have air conditioning, while the other half leave their windows open for better ventilation.
Salang felt that RM3 for a 3km trip is very expensive seeing that she still has to walk from her home to the bus stop and then walk some more after getting off to her actual destination.
“E-hailing service is more expensive. It cost about RM5 for me to get from Mile 10 to Mile 8 for work. However, I would not have to walk so much. That is only a RM2 difference from taking the bus. Doesn’t this mean that the bus fare is overpriced?”
Meanwhile, a bus driver operating around the Mile 8 area here, Pandi Jamal, said they have no choice during the MCO but to increase the fare for adults.
“People must know that after the SOPs were relaxed and allowed 75% capacity, we are still getting less than half passengers as a lot of people do not go out now because of the bad economy.
“Before the pandemic, we picked up a lot of tourists from Mile 8 to Sepilok (Mile 14), but we have lost that group of customers now.”
Pandi also said that with the increasing cost of living, it is unreasonable that the standardised bus fare rate for stage buses and minibuses for Sabah remained the same since it was gazetted in August 2009.
“During the MCO, we had no choice but to increase the bus fare. Right now, we hope that the government will allow us to maintain the fare because we simply cannot survive if they want us to implement the same fare in 2009.”
Commercial Vehicle Licensing Board (CVLB) chairman Datuk Chin Kim Hiung said the Sabah board has been looking into the issue.
“The standardised bus fare has remained the same for Sabah since 2009. Sabah CVLB has compared the fares between Sarawak and Peninsular Malaysia, and the difference is not much.
“I have previously met with the Sandakan minibus operators association last year; they had conveyed their request for us to hike the fare and I have received their proposal in January. However, the proposal was not holistic as other associations across Sabah were not engaged and the hike was not detailed and justified,” he told The Vibes.
Chin said the government is concerned with the welfare of the people as any proposal on hiking fees or fares are required to be submitted to the National Action Council on Cost of Living chaired by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob for consideration.
“I would like to remind these operators that hiking fares is an offence and we will be enforcing tickets soon.
“Not all operators have been hiking fares, I am aware that companies such as the Tuaran Union Transport and Luen Thung Transport operating in Kota Kinabalu have been abiding by the rules and regulations.
“I would like to convey my appreciation to these companies for providing service to the people without fare hikes.” – The Vibes, February 20, 2022
