KOTA KINABALU – Chartered vehicle drivers have voiced their frustrations as their vehicles were unable to enter the upper floors of the city’s main transportation terminal KK Sentral.
According to them, the height of the overhead columns for the RM54 million terminal’s upper floors were too low for some of their vehicles to drive under, prompting them to question whether the construction of the terminal was well planned in the first place.
KK Sentral was fully completed in 2017 while operations commenced in 2019, starting with the express bus companies which are currently operating on the ground floor.
The waiting station for chartered vehicles was designated by Kota Kinabalu City Hall at the fifth or top floor of the terminal complex.
One of the drivers told The Vibes that the roof of his van would graze the overhead beams once reaching the third floor.
“We still have two more floors to reach the designated waiting station.
“So we had no choice but to operate on the ground floor where the bus companies had been assigned to.
“For that reason, we are in direct competition with the express bus operators.
“This had also caused a rift between us and the express bus touts,” said the driver, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Mayor Datuk Noorliza Awang Alip visited the terminal today to resolve the issue faced by the chartered vehicle drivers at the integrated station here.
According to the driver, the touts were also unhappy when they picked up passengers on the ground floor, calling them to move their business to their designated waiting station on the top floor.
“But who would want to go up there? It’s an empty place. No one knows we are operating from up there.
“Passengers feel it would be a drag to go up all the way to the fifth floor,” he said.
Meanwhile, a spokesman for the chartered vehicle drivers, Ali Yadap, said they were not against the local government, but called on it to provide an exclusive area where they can carry out their business.
“I have been driving for decades and all we want is some peace of mind when doing our business.
“Not like this, where we have jostled for riders each day with the express bus operators,” said Ali, adding that there was still no solution in sight after the mayor’s visit.
Noorliza earlier was seen at the chartered drivers’ waiting station on the top floor before heading to the ground floor where she talked to some of the bus drivers and chartered vehicle drivers.
She was also accompanied by the Sabah Commercial Vehicle Licensing Board (CVLB) director Norsiah Patah.
When met, however, Noorliza refused to take questions from the press.
Yesterday, Noorliza attended a closed-door dialogue with around a hundred chartered vehicle drivers where she said Kota Kinabalu City Hall will relook into the relocation of all the public transport operators at the hub.
Additionally, Sabah CVLB chairman Datuk Chin Kim Hiung announced that a new stage bus service will replace the present minibus service, despite the consortium-run stage bus operator having yet to start operating from KK Sentral at present. – The Vibes, September 20, 2022
