No bus for you, Sabak Barnam!

TRANSIT took note of this article in the Star, stating that bus service in Sabak Barnam has been shut down since the beginning of May.

Sabak Bernam folk have no bus to go anywhere (The Star)
Saturday May 21, 2011

CITY Liner has stopped bus services between Sabak Bernam and Kuala Selangor since May leaving thousands of residents, school children and the public facing transport woes.

Sabak Bernam PAS Supporters Club president S.N. Paramasivam said stopping the service had created problems for the local community with most having difficulty going to work and school.

He told Malaysia Nanban that most of them were having difficulty in going to work and school with many having to depend on friends or taxis.

TRANSIT Says:

And so it begins. And despite the promises from SPAD CEO Syed Hamid Albar that SPAD will help, it does not appear that a solution is going to be found soon to the problem of bus operators shutting down because they cannot afford the operational costs.

But we have to wonder … are operational costs the only reason why services are being cut? Or is PMBOA responding to SPAD’s new expectations (re-registration, higher fines, SHE Code & maintenance standards) with an attempt at stonewalling by reducing bus service? After all, where is the proof that the cost of fuel, spare parts, insurance & labour are “spiraling” or “skyrocketing” or “increasing at an otherwise rapid pace”? We know, for example, that diesel costs have not changed in 2 years and the upcoming increase will not affect buses.

Or maybe, PMBOA’s predictions of doom were real and accurate, and sadly ignored by a government that is just too focused on getting the MRT project going?

We at TRANSIT expect that new SPAD COO Azhar Ahmad will find ways to resolve these issues – through public consultation, better planning, and involving local government and the public in the development process.