No additional charge on bus fares at Kuching Sentral
Friday, 02 March 2012 Sarawak Tribune KUCHING: The Kuching Sentral Regional Bus Terminal costing RM100 million aims to provide a convenient and modern facilities for bus commuters and operators.
Speaking at a media conference after the official launching of the terminal, General Manager of ASSAR (Project and Business Development) Haji Ghazali Ismail clarified that the new bus terminal is a fully private funded project by ASSAR and is not a government project as perceived by members of the public.
Ghazali said they did apply for funds from the federal government but until today they did not receive it.Kuching Sentral Regional Bus Terminal is a subsidiary of Permodalan Assar Berhad, a state owned government linked company.
When asked to comment on the recent news regarding the dissatisfaction of Sarawak Buses Association about the Kuching Sentral, he said it was unfair for the people to say that they (Kuching Sentral) are charging excessively, especially with the 10 per cent additional fees.
“Bear in mind that bus fares are beyond us.It is not for us to decide on the fares.It is the decision of the Bus Association and the Commercial Vehicle Licensing Board (LPKP) because LPKP is the authority that gives the green light on what the bus fares should be for the public,” he explained.
He said that Kuching Sentral’s main objective is to provide better services through the idea of having modern and upgraded facilities at a bus terminal and to bring it to a level of higher quality.
“The location is very strategic and we intend to make this area a transportation hub.We try to improvise and put up a better system, though it may not be perfect but we try.Should there be any comment about this terminal, it ought to be constructive,” he said when asked to comment on news report that some quarters disagreed with the structure of the new terminal.
“We have incorporated suggestion from the Bus Association through the many sessions we had with them and we try to accommodate issues raised by them,” he said.
According to the news reported in a national daily, the Sarawak Buses Association said they will boycott the opening ceremony yesterday, but Ghazali said he did not think so.There were several bus operators who are members of the association present at the launching ceremony yesterday.
“Bear in mind that out of the 16 bus operators we have invited for the launching ceremony, not all are operating from this terminal.Some are operating in Sibu and other divisions so that is why they could not come,” he added.
“To shoot us down just because we are implementing a new system is unfair.Let us test the system first.
It is not right to preempt and just because we are doing the central ticketing system it is going to fail.
Some people are not able to accept change.“We must be able to adapt to changes because change is something we realise is coming.This particular change, we cannot just ignore.“The system we have at the Kuching Sentral now involves upgrades.It is not something we replicate from the previous terminal,” Ghazali explained.
On the 10 per cent charge that the new terminal will impose, he said they are going to charge the fees stressing that the 10 per cent fee does not equate to a 10 per cent increase in bus fares.
“Please be informed that the 10 per cent fee we charged does not translate into the passenger bus fares.Don’t get the statement wrong.A lot of people though that the 10 per cent charges for depot means an increase of 10 per cent more on the bus fare.That perception should be avoided,” he pointed out.
Meanwhile, Raymond Sim who is the Director of Sentral Solution Sdn Bhd, the Kuching Sentral operator said that not all the services they provide are chargeable because several of the services such as the individual bus counters, cargo spaces and others are free of charge.
“Our job is to provide facilities to maintain discipline in giving the best facilities and to issue ticket or boarding passes to protect the bus operator’s interest because of issues such as imitation of tickets can cause losses to them.This is the best we can do,” he pointed out.
He also reiterated that the rate they are charging is reasonable due to the services and facilities members of the public get at the new bus terminal, adding that they do not want to burden the end users.
“Another objective of charging the 10 per cent is because we want to promote this industry to avert the perception that people travelling by bus is regarded as lower and middle income group.There is also no monthly rental for the bus operators.
“With this terminal we hope to promote and change the people mindset of the misconception of using buses to travel,” he said.
All bus operators are given a grace period of two weeks until 15 March to move to Kuching Sentral.
As of now they can still operate from the old bus terminal at 4th Mile until the end of the grace period.
“Another features of the terminal is about the punctuality of the buses because there are problems of delays all thise while.In this case, the new terminal management will ensure that the buses leave as scheduled.“The punctuality and consistency of the buses will attract more people to the services offered here,” Sim added.
Asked if there are any charges for the parking bays, Sim said unless a bus is parked overnight, then there is a charge imposed which is RM500 per bus per day.
He also said they discouraged buses from parking at the terminal because it is supposed to be a bus terminal and not a bus depot.Each bus company has its own depot.
Speaking at a media conference after the official launching of the terminal, General Manager of ASSAR (Project and Business Development) Haji Ghazali Ismail clarified that the new bus terminal is a fully private funded project by ASSAR and is not a government project as perceived by members of the public.
Ghazali said they did apply for funds from the federal government but until today they did not receive it.Kuching Sentral Regional Bus Terminal is a subsidiary of Permodalan Assar Berhad, a state owned government linked company.
When asked to comment on the recent news regarding the dissatisfaction of Sarawak Buses Association about the Kuching Sentral, he said it was unfair for the people to say that they (Kuching Sentral) are charging excessively, especially with the 10 per cent additional fees.
“Bear in mind that bus fares are beyond us.It is not for us to decide on the fares.It is the decision of the Bus Association and the Commercial Vehicle Licensing Board (LPKP) because LPKP is the authority that gives the green light on what the bus fares should be for the public,” he explained.
He said that Kuching Sentral’s main objective is to provide better services through the idea of having modern and upgraded facilities at a bus terminal and to bring it to a level of higher quality.
“The location is very strategic and we intend to make this area a transportation hub.We try to improvise and put up a better system, though it may not be perfect but we try.Should there be any comment about this terminal, it ought to be constructive,” he said when asked to comment on news report that some quarters disagreed with the structure of the new terminal.
“We have incorporated suggestion from the Bus Association through the many sessions we had with them and we try to accommodate issues raised by them,” he said.
According to the news reported in a national daily, the Sarawak Buses Association said they will boycott the opening ceremony yesterday, but Ghazali said he did not think so.There were several bus operators who are members of the association present at the launching ceremony yesterday.
“Bear in mind that out of the 16 bus operators we have invited for the launching ceremony, not all are operating from this terminal.Some are operating in Sibu and other divisions so that is why they could not come,” he added.
“To shoot us down just because we are implementing a new system is unfair.Let us test the system first.
It is not right to preempt and just because we are doing the central ticketing system it is going to fail.
Some people are not able to accept change.“We must be able to adapt to changes because change is something we realise is coming.This particular change, we cannot just ignore.“The system we have at the Kuching Sentral now involves upgrades.It is not something we replicate from the previous terminal,” Ghazali explained.
On the 10 per cent charge that the new terminal will impose, he said they are going to charge the fees stressing that the 10 per cent fee does not equate to a 10 per cent increase in bus fares.
“Please be informed that the 10 per cent fee we charged does not translate into the passenger bus fares.Don’t get the statement wrong.A lot of people though that the 10 per cent charges for depot means an increase of 10 per cent more on the bus fare.That perception should be avoided,” he pointed out.
Meanwhile, Raymond Sim who is the Director of Sentral Solution Sdn Bhd, the Kuching Sentral operator said that not all the services they provide are chargeable because several of the services such as the individual bus counters, cargo spaces and others are free of charge.
“Our job is to provide facilities to maintain discipline in giving the best facilities and to issue ticket or boarding passes to protect the bus operator’s interest because of issues such as imitation of tickets can cause losses to them.This is the best we can do,” he pointed out.
He also reiterated that the rate they are charging is reasonable due to the services and facilities members of the public get at the new bus terminal, adding that they do not want to burden the end users.
“Another objective of charging the 10 per cent is because we want to promote this industry to avert the perception that people travelling by bus is regarded as lower and middle income group.There is also no monthly rental for the bus operators.
“With this terminal we hope to promote and change the people mindset of the misconception of using buses to travel,” he said.
All bus operators are given a grace period of two weeks until 15 March to move to Kuching Sentral.
As of now they can still operate from the old bus terminal at 4th Mile until the end of the grace period.
“Another features of the terminal is about the punctuality of the buses because there are problems of delays all thise while.In this case, the new terminal management will ensure that the buses leave as scheduled.“The punctuality and consistency of the buses will attract more people to the services offered here,” Sim added.
Asked if there are any charges for the parking bays, Sim said unless a bus is parked overnight, then there is a charge imposed which is RM500 per bus per day.
He also said they discouraged buses from parking at the terminal because it is supposed to be a bus terminal and not a bus depot.Each bus company has its own depot.
ASSAR is a GLC. Which part is private which part is government link?
ReplyDeleteAs for the 10% ...10% of what exactly? Why be vague ...be transparent ...avoiding accountability and governance?
There is something to be said about depot facilities. If the Managers want to capitalize on the passenger streams and provide other services, that's not equitable. It's main function is to serve the public for outbound travels to outside Kuching areas. It seems ASSAR now with the monopoly is not being transparent nor seemingly fair but have apparently other profit motives but which must be shared across all objectives.
Recently I bought one ticket from Kuching to Bintulu.Normally it cost MYR50.00 per trip but sadly I paid MYR70.00 ..What are this additional MYR20 going to?...
ReplyDeleteAdditional RM20?
ReplyDeletePake Bujang Nor meli bol tenis endak? Mun nya dapat main bola - tenis kah, penis kah?
Atau pake ngambik dukun rambut perang baru dari Lebanan?