School bus operators will charge 10% more from June

PETALING JAYA: Taking a leaf from the airline industry, school bus operators will impose a diesel “surcharge” from next month in light of the increase in diesel price.

But Commercial Vehicle Licensing Board (CVLB) chairman Baharum Mohamed warned that school bus operators who raise their rates without authorisation could lose their licence.

Federation of Malaysian School Bus Operators Association president Chee Ah Tey said that to cushion the impact of the higher diesel price, the members had no choice but to ask parents to pay 10% more for their services.

“Diesel price recently increased by 25%. We have to absorb 15% of the difference, but we can’t survive if we have to bear the full amount,” he said yesterday.

The surcharge works up to between RM3 and RM10 depending on the principal fare which is calculated based on the distance between the student’s house and school.

“We have informed some of the parents and they have been very understanding and agreed to pay. The parents know that we don’t make much money,” he said.

The price of diesel went up by 20 sen a litre and petrol by 10 sen on May 5.

When the price of jet fuel rose from US$46 (RM174.80) per barrel in May last year to US$69.72 (RM264.94) per barrel on March 17, the Government allowed Malaysia Airlines to impose a fuel surcharge of between RM7.50 and RM15 for domestic flights effective May 1.

The Government also approved an increase in the surcharge for international flights, which first came into effect in June last year, from RM50 to RM76 for long-haul flights and from RM15 to RM38 for regional flights.

Chee said that several school bus operators had already raised their fares but the majority of the 12,000 members under the federation would charge new rates from June 1.

Despite Baharum's warning that the board would suspend or revoke the licence of school bus operators caught increasing fares without authorisation, Chee said they had to charge more because they were struggling to survive.

Chee acknowledged that the federation had not sought the CVLB’s approval to increase their charges but a meeting would be held with members early next month to decide on the quantum of increment in bus fare and a memorandum on the matter would be forwarded to the CVLB.

“We plan to ask for about 30% increase in school bus fares as the last revision of fares was in 2001,” he said.

National Parent-Teacher Associations Collaborative Council president Associate Prof Dr Mohd Ali Hassan did not agree with the federation’s move, saying that it was unfair for school bus operators to pass the burden to parents.

He urged parents to report to the CVLB those who raise their prices without approval.

Federation of Malaysian Consumers Association vice-president K. Koris suggested that the Government reduces road tax to alleviate the burden on school bus operators.

Koris said he sympathised with the operators who had to put up with the higher diesel price but were not allowed to increase their fares.